cruel beauty
by Darkironprincess17
Summary: While rescuing Elizabeth from Drocell's puppets, Ciel and Sebastian run into her cousin, Lady Lily Middleford. Sadly for sebastian, she is the same woman who died in his arms twenty years before Ciel's contract. PLEASE read and review! Sebastian X OC
1. A haunted photograph

Chapter one: a photograph

"S-so… what did you want to speak with us about?" Maylene asked, looking nervous.

"I have a job I want you to do." Ciel said. He got out a very old looking camera, and set it down on the table.

"This is a camera said to have been in the famous Talbot's collection. It's got a story to it. It was missing for some time, but I heard it was coming up at an auction and went to great pains to get it."

"Talbot?"

"William Henry Fox Talbot… he was an English scientist, and one of the inventors of photographic technology. There were queer rumours about the last camera he used. Legend has it that when you photograph someone with this camera, whoever he thinks most fondly of will appear in the picture… perhaps." Tanaka explained.

"Whomever he thinks most fondly of?" Maylene asked.

"Can such a camera even exist?" Bard asked.

"Let's find out." Ciel set the camera up to face Finni. "Don't move. Exposure takes ten seconds. If you move, the image will blur and we won't get a clear shot."

"W-what's exposure?"

"To put it plainly, it's copying an image of Finni."

"8…9…10… done" Finni let out a sigh of relief as Ciel fixed the camera back up. "It would have been all right to breathe." Ciel pointed out.

"Huh…" They waited as it developed. Ciel looked at it. "Oh wow! It's my bird!" Finni said, his eyes widening in delight. After Finni explained the bird, Tanaka reappeared as his full self.

"Ah, I forgot. The only loved ones that the camera will show are otherworldly beings. In other words, the dead" Tanaka said.

"Take a picture of Sebastian with this camera. But don't let him notice" Ciel said, pushing the camera towards them.

"Who does Sebastian think of most fondly, yes?" Maylene said.

"I might want to see that." Finni added.

"He's always griping about my artistic cooking! He's as human as any of us! He must have a weakness! This is our chance!"

"I trust you can do it?" Ciel asked.

"Yes, my lord!" All three yelled, and then laughed.

"I always wanted to do that!"

_What on earth will appear if we take a photo of him with this camera? _Ciel thought.

After quite a few unsuccessful hours of trying to get a candid photo of Sebastian, they finally did it.

"You could have just told me to pose for a picture, young master" Sebastian said in annoyance as he looked at the picture of him, Ciel and Pluto. Unknown to Sebastian, though, Ciel had managed to take a candid photo of him, by himself.

Excitement overtook Ciel as he carefully developed the photo. Just a little bit longer… And finally, he took it out of the water and took a look at it. He nearly dropped the photo in surprise. Sebastian stood there, just as he had photographed him. However, it was strange.

A pretty woman hung onto Sebastian's arm. Her very long curly hair flowed freely over her shoulders. The small veil she wore didn't conceal her eyes at all. They sparkled with happiness, and her smile was full of excitement. Her smile could have matched that of a new bride. She was very pretty, but even so, she was obviously human. She was also obviously dead as she showed up in the picture. He had never pictured his butler ever able to love a woman. A human one, at that…

He slid the picture in his drawer, determined to ask Sebastian about it tomorrow. Who cared how angry he got? This was a new mystery. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep. He had strange dreams about the mystery woman. Who could she have been to capture Sebastian's attention? Did he have a contract with her at some point?

The next day, Ciel waited in his study for Sebastian to come and serve him lunch. The quiet tap on the door made him carefully slide out the photograph and keep it face down on his lap.

"This smells familiar…" Ciel said. "Is this apple custard pie?"

"Yes" Sebastian set the dish down in front of Ciel. He took a thoughtful bite.

"Sebastian…"

"Yes, young master?"

"Are demons able to love?" The question seemed to take Sebastian by surprise.

"Yes… but it doesn't happen often. Why would you want to know?"

Ciel waved Sebastian over, and showed him the photograph. As Ciel had thought, Sebastian froze over with surprise.

"Can you tell me who this woman was?"

"That was the last person I held a contract with."

"So why would you care so much about her that she showed up in this picture?" Ciel asked. Sebastian sighed.

"It's a really complicated process when we demons fall in love. One of the only types of love we can have is one called an attraction. This happens between a demon and a master of the opposite gender. Such a contract is never completed. Instead, that master is taken to the demon world and changed into a demon. The contract then will be broken between the two, and they can live together as demons. This is the way our kind ensures the population of demons grows. This can also happen without a contract."

"Have you ever had an attraction?"

"Yes… once… let's just say it didn't end well." Sebastian said this with a smile, but his hands were balled into fists. "I will be in the library if you need me." Sebastian said, and without another word, walked out of the study. Ciel watched him leave. What could possibly have happened between the two of them to make it end badly? Had she died before the contract could have been completed? He looked through all of the papers he had previously collected- murder articles. He finally found one with a picture of a woman who looked like the one in the photograph.

"Catherine Rosen…" How could she have been murdered if she held a contract with a demon? What were the circumstances if Sebastian was unable to save her?

The phone rang a few days later.

"Elizabeth's missing?"


	2. Lady Lilyanne Alyssa Cordelia Middleford

Chapter two: Lady Lilyanne Alyssa Cordelia Middleford

'_Hmm… you look like an Adrian…' The woman adjusted her long skirt, her grey eyes piercing through his, a gaze far more intelligent than a human's should be. 'I'm going to name you Adrian… Adrian Whitewood. That's going to be your name!' She said._

'_I know my name; may I know the name of my lady?" He asked. The woman smiled._

"_It's Catherine. Catherine Rosen" Sebastian's mark glowed on her left hand._

Lily woke up. Those grey eyes… she couldn't get them out of her head. How many times would she have to relieve Catherine Rosen's death in a night? The scariest part was that it had actually happened. Just a few weeks before she was born, a woman named Catherine Rosen had been killed. They said she died young, at twenty years. She got up carefully and brushed her long auburn hair until it shined. She was twenty years old now.

She put on a plain black dress. Black was her favourite color, and favourite thing to wear. She headed out into the streets. She needed to pay her aunt a visit. Aunt Frances and Elizabeth were the only two relatives she had left in all of her family. She had promised to visit once a week to play with Elizabeth and have a talk with her aunt. She didn't live too far away, within walking distance.

She knocked on the door. A thin faced maid answered the door.

"Oh, Lady Lily, my lady cannot see you right now."

"Why not, what's wrong?"

"Lady Elizabeth has gone missing, my lady."

"What? When did this happen?"

"Just yesterday, my lady… she went to visit her fiancée and never came back. They said that she left his manor, but did not come home."

"I understand. Thank you for the information." She said, and started running. She had to find her. She had to find Lizzie as fast as she could. If anyone dared hurt her, she'd kill them and not even care. After all, she was trained by Aunt Frances to be one of the best swordfighters there were. She could also wield a gun easily. She began looking around, looking for people who had last seen her.

Everyone told Lily she had a brilliant mind for a woman of her age. Within a few hours, she had found a doll shop on the street. All clues and evidence pointed to that place.

Ciel was looking for Elizabeth too. As Pluto charged ahead, they saw a doll shop. A woman in a black dress suddenly ran in front of them and pounded on the door. It was locked. She stood back and did a running kick, felling the door down in one go.

"Elizabeth?" She yelled. "Lizzie?" She began looking around. Pluto then burst through the door, to the woman's surprise, and found a doll that looked a lot like Elizabeth. Ciel and Grell followed, and Pluto dropped the doll into Ciel's hands. He looked up at the woman, who was staring in horror at the doll.

"Wait a second…" She looked at him.

"I know you from somewhere" They both said at the same time. "You're Elizabeth's betrothed, Ciel Phantomhive" She said.

"Yes… I am… Forgive me, but I don't seem to remember who you are."

"Oh… I'm Lily Middleford. I'm Elizabeth's older cousin."

"How did you find this place?"

"I did a little detective work. All the clues pointed to this place. Apparently I'm not alone in my conclusion."

"When did you learn Elizabeth was missing?"

"Just today"

"You found this place that fast?"

"Why, yes… it's not that difficult." Lily said. "All the other missing girls… they've been turned into dolls too…" She said. Ciel marvelled at how smart this woman was. A genius, that's what she was. He took a better look at her.

She had long waist length auburn hair that shone like silk, green eyes that looked almost exactly like Elizabeth's, only they had a mature sadness to them, a kindness rarely appreciated. Her face was perfectly structured, like a marble angel one would see in a cemetery. She wasn't very tall, only about a head and a half taller than he was, and a head shorter than Sebastian. She wore a very plain knee length black dress, with black knee high lace up boots, and black gloves. Sebastian would have taken a liking to her if he were here.

"Why, aren't you the little genius" Grell said.

"Watch who you're calling little" She said. Her eyes narrowed significantly, and the lighting of the room made scary shadows on her cheekbones. Pluto sniffed and pawed at something. It was a door. The three of them ran into what seemed to be an empty room.

A life sized doll stood in the middle of the room on a platform, and a crystal chandelier stood above it. Ciel warily approached the doll.

"Ciel" Lily warned starting towards him. The doll reached up and wrapped its fingers around Ciel's throat.

"Pluto…" he said quietly, looking for help. Pluto was in the corner, gnawing on a doll. "Why you…" Suddenly, a crystal fell on the doll's head, and it let go of him.

"You called the wrong name" The voice said.

"Grell" Ciel looked up. Grell was standing on the chandelier, brandishing two pairs of scissors.

"Reapers have the tools to harvest souls. Yes, death scythes!"

"Those are… just scissors"

"It's not my fault! William took away my death scythe!" Lily laughed. "It's not funny!" The doll got back up onto its feet. Grell jumped down and raised his scissors.

"Grell, no, she's still human!" Ciel yelled, but in two strikes, Grell had slit the doll's throat. It fell, and sand poured out of the cut. "I guess not." Suddenly, they heard a voice.

"Wood and clay will wash away, wash away, wash away; wood and clay will wash away, my fair lady." The door opened.

"That doll was a failure." Drocell said as he walked out, holding a candle rung. "So I thought to myself: I must make them much, much stronger." He raised his hands.

"Build them out of iron and steel, iron and steel, iron and steel; build them out of iron and steel, my fair lady." Several dolls walked out. Grell struck again, but the doll blocked it.

"These guys aren't easy to cut…"

Ciel and Lily ran past them.

"You two stay here and take care of the dolls."

"You're going to leave me behind? You're inhuman!"

"A reaper is calling me that?" Ciel asked as he ran through the doors, Lily right at his heels. They ran up several flights of stairs. They ran into a room.

"Ciel Phantomhive…" They looked up. "You are very beautiful. I must make you into a worthy doll."

"Creep" Lily yelled at Drocell. He stayed silent.

"Where is Elizabeth?" Ciel asked.

"Now… what shall I make you out of? Clay will wash away, but iron is too crude, I say. So I thought to myself:" Ciel turned and ran, Lily ran with him. "Build it up with silver and gold, silver and gold, silver and gold; build it up with silver and gold, my fair lady." They were in a dark room. The masks on the walls began to sing after Drocell.

"What the hell is this nightmare?" Lily asked, looking around. Her fingers moved for the long knife she kept in her boot. Ciel clapped his ears over his hands and kept running. Lily slashed at the dolls, to no effect. She kept running too, as the noise was getting to her as well. Ciel finally got to the door and slammed it behind him. He stared at the floor, where the familiar symbol was drawn. He looked at it in horror as the memories came flooding back. A new voice spoke.

"Truly, nothing ever good happens on your birthday, does it?"

"Sebastian!"


	3. Sebastian's new attraction

Chapter 3: Sebastian's new attraction

"You lost your mansion, you lost your parents, and this time, will you lose Lady Elizabeth?" Sebastian's outline could be seen. The curtain blew away to reveal Sebastian sitting on the windowsill.

"Take that back, Sebastian."

"Take what back?"

"That jeer!"

"Young master, you told me you would be taking care of some trifling business. Was that 'business' to dotingly savour your wretched past and wallow in the pleasures of humiliation? Didn't you say at the frost fair that your body and your ring had already been shattered and reborn? That you were far past afraid of being shattered?"

"That's right. Don't recite my words back to me." Ciel said. "Wait a second… where's Lily?"

"Lily?"

A few seconds later, Lily burst into the room, carrying her jackknife, the switchblade open and ready.

"Not good… Ciel, they're catching up." She said, out of breath. She brushed the hair out of her eyes and her gaze fell on Sebastian. Suddenly, both of them straightened up, as if an electric shock had passed through them. Suddenly, Sebastian could not take his eyes off her. _Oh no… not again._ He thought desperately as he tried to look the other way. Drocell's voice echoed through the door.

"Build it up with iron and steel, iron and steel, iron and steel; build it up with iron and steel, my fair lady." Ciel ran around to face the door. Lily kept a firm grip on her switchblade knife. The door opened, and several rows of dolls marched forwards.

"Was Grell defeated?" Ciel asked in shock.

"I see… he's controlling them with his voice." Sebastian said, and walked forwards.

"That's right!" Lily said, and began to sing in the same tone. Her voice was beautiful and unearthly. "Iron and steel will bend and bow, bend and bow, bend and bow; iron and steel will bend and bow, my fair lady." Sebastian joined her. The dolls moved their heads to the music, and the steel cracked and their heads teetered to the side. At 'my fair lady' Sebastian walked over to stand beside Ciel.

"Who are you calling a lady?" Ciel asked angrily.

"Let us depart, young master."

"No. Ciel Phantomhive is my master's possession now. As is that young woman, though she is unnecessary to me."

"I am not-"

"The proof is the ring on your finger… and on yours too…" Lily looked down in shock to see another hope diamond ring, settled on her finger. "That hope diamond is a gift from my master to those who will be made into dolls." Lily seized the ring on her finger and tried to pull it off. No use, it was stuck fast. It wasn't a real ring, it was just a copy.

"Master?" Sebastian asked, confused.

"Ciel Phantomhive will be made into a doll… as will Lily Middleford. Dolls made of silver and gold." Sebastian smiled.

"Silver and gold will be stolen away, stolen away, stolen away; silver and gold will be stolen away, my fair lady." He grabbed Ciel and took Lily by the hand, ignoring the little spark when he grabbed it. He jumped, keeping a hold on both, and sailed out the window. They landed neatly on the back of the house.

"He was stolen away." Drocell sat on the floor. "So I thought to myself; Ciel Phantomhive will return."

Lily dusted herself off and let go of Sebastian's hand. Sebastian put Ciel down.

"Goodness me…" Sebastian said. Ciel brought his hand around and slapped him. Lily's head moved, as if she had been slapped and not Sebastian. A big red mark had formed on Sebastian's cheek.

"Ciel?" Lily asked, outraged.

"Don't tell me how to treat my servants, Lily." Ciel said, before turning his attention to Sebastian. "What about Lizzie? You still haven't saved her? I thought I ordered you to solve the kidnappings. Saving Lizzie, who fell victim to the kidnappings, is first-"

"An order is not the same as a contract." Sebastian interrupted, keeping his voice low so that Lily wouldn't hear. "Just as you give first priority to orders from the queen, I prioritize your life. I have devoted myself to your service and protection all this time. I couldn't stand for you to be stolen from me now."

"You had no bond to Lily. Why did you save her?"

"Simply because you would have punished me if I hadn't" Sebastian said, before turning his attention to Lily. "I do believe we haven't met. My name is Sebastian Michaelis. I am the butler of the Phantomhive family."

Lily smiled. It was a pleasant, sweet smile. It brought back painful memories of Catherine for him. "It's nice to meet you. I am Lily Middleford. I'm Elizabeth's older cousin."

"Enough talk, let's get going." Ciel said, looking at the ring. "He said that this ring is the mark of a next victim. And now I have two. Protecting me now will no doubt require some effort."

"Nevertheless, I shall…" A howl pierced through the night.

"Pluto" Ciel said. Lily looked around.

"I searched every corner of the mansion, but there was no sign of Lady Elizabeth. The only place left is that sealed off tower." The three of them ran towards the tower, where Pluto was barking, on a leash, with Grell restraining him.

"Hey, now, what's the matter with you?" Grell asked, fighting to keep a grip on Pluto.

"You two are alive?" Ciel asked. Grell saw Sebastian and a pink blush faded over his cheeks.

"Sebas-chan!" He launched himself towards Sebastian, but Pluto got there first. "Excuse me?" Grell paused. "Wait… could that be… a demon hound?"

"You just noticed?" Ciel asked.

"Oh la la, a passionate night with a beast, how immoral!"

"You're so wanton…" Sebastian said with a look of disgust on his face. Lily had to laugh. He looked at Lily.

"My Lady, are you sure you want to come with us? It's going to get dangerous." He said.

"That's my little cousin in there. I am going and no one is going to stop me." She said, flicking out her knife again.

"Pluto, I've been waiting for you." Sebastian said and walked forwards, with Pluto hanging on his neck. "Once the seal of the underworld has been placed on a door, only a hellhound can open it." Pluto's collar lit up, and he dropped to the ground, clawing at it.

"His collar is shining?"

"So is the door." Grell pointed out. Pluto changed into a dog and howled. The door opened with a creak, and Pluto bounded forwards.

"He did it again" Ciel said, outraged.

"It's all right." Sebastian said. "Let him be our guide." They followed into the dark tower.


	4. My Fair Lady

Chapter four: My fair Lady

They all ran up yet another set of stairs.

"God… how many stairs are there here?" Lily asked, but she kept running. It seemed that she was pretty athletic as well. They finally got to a door. Lily inched closer to it, keeping her switchblade out. Sebastian walked forwards.

"Allow me" He pulled the door open. They walked into what seemed to be a doll creating factory. Doll parts made out of clay lay everywhere. Over in a chair propped against the wall, Elizabeth sat with her head down.

"Lizzie" Ciel ran towards her, and Lily followed warily. He knelt down. "Lizzie" He grabbed her by the shoulders. Her eyes were closed.

"It looks like we were a little too late" Grell said.

"Shut your trap you piece of garbage" Lily spit.

"No" Ciel said. "Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie!"

Elizabeth opened her eyes, strikingly similar to Lily's.

"Hmm?"

"Lizzie… thank goodness."

"…The ring" Lizzie said. "So you were pleased, Ciel"

"Then this was her gift for you" Sebastian said.

"But it's foolish… why would you give me…" Suddenly, they heard the click of puppet strings.

"Ciel look out!" Lily cried.

"Yes, why?" Drocell's voice sounded out. The puppet strings pulled Lizzie up into the air.

"Lizzie!" Lily yelled.

"L…Lily…" Elizabeth said quietly, looking down in horror at her fiancée and her cousin.

"Why does her body move independent of her will?" Drocell asked.

"You monster!" Lily yelled at him.

"And…" A spear flew into her hands. "Why does she hurt the ones she loves?"

"Elizabeth!" Ciel cried. She raised the spear.

"No!" She brought the spear down on Ciel. Sebastian pulled him out of the way. She attacked Lily, who caught the spear blow on the blade of her knife. She danced out of the way. Elizabeth kept on attacking. "No, no, no!" She tried to take control of her body but couldn't.

"Grell" Sebastian said. "You can see this too, can't you?"

"I suppose, but I might chip my blades, so…" Grell said, sitting in the corner, cutting his nails.

"Please" Sebastian said.

"Oh, Sebas-chan, you're asking me for something? In that case… during the kiss… can there be tongue?" Grell asked. Lily looked at him like he was insane. For some reason, she felt possessive of Sebastian, though she barely knew him and had only met him today.

"I haven't the faintest idea what you mean, but in fact, I can tie a cherry stem with my tongue."

"Oh yes!" Grell ran up to Elizabeth. "It's unfair that a girl like you can wield a better weapon than me."

"Stop, Grell!" Ciel cried. There were two scissor strokes in the darkness, and Elizabeth fell. Lily and Ciel crouched down next to her.

"Elizabeth." Sebastian pulled something off of her waist.

"It's a puppet string." He said, staring at the thin cord.

"This sharp cut comes only with a death scythe… well, Sebas-chan? I'm amazing aren't I? Compliment me, compliment me!"

"Good for you… not just anyone would run with scissors."

"Oh, I'm flattered to death!"

"And the puppet string leads to…" He looked up. They heard Drocell's voice again.

"So I thought to myself:" He took several puppet strings and tied the four of them up with it. Lily's strings seemed particularly tight, and her breathing was laboured. Sebastian found it hard to breathe himself, but his weren't that tight. _Oh no… this can't be happening. Not again, not again?_ He thought desperately, trying to stave off the truth. "What shall I use to make my new dolls?"

"Then, I'll ask you this" Sebastian said. He needed to hurry. Lily was starting to turn blue. He had no idea why he even cared. "What are you made of?"

"Hmm… what am I made of?"

"Yes, you see, you don't seem to be made of very fine quality materials."

"So I thought to myself… I know I must be human, and yet lately I find termites crawling out of my ears." Sebastian's eyes narrowed. He picked up Elizabeth's spear with his foot and kicked it upwards. It hit Drocell in the face. He tried to balance himself. The strings loosened, and Lily fell to her knees. She got up immediately though, and Sebastian sighed in relief. The spear fell back into his hands.

"Grell"

"Ah, a loving collaboration, right, Sebas-chan?" Sebastian jumped on Grell's head, and went to hit Drocell. He jumped up with the spear and landed on the same platform as Drocell.

"I sense none of the way or the style of a butler in you." He said as he raised the spear. He struck, and Drocell fell, hitting Grell. Moments later the spear fell on him too. Sebastian landed lightly on his feet. He was proud to see that Lily was looking at him in admiration.

"I would never lose to a man without style."

"That's my Sebastian, so stylish." Grell said as he inched forwards. Lily glared at him.

Drocell lay on the floor, his purple eyes wide open, and a bunch of straw like material coming out of his head.

"So he was a doll too?" Ciel asked in disbelief.

"Drocell Keinz… his soul was collected five years ago, but for some reason, we detected signs of survival."

"Someone must have fitted him with a makeshift soul."

"Ciel" Lizzie said.

"Lizzie, you're awake." Lily said.

"Elizabeth… Let's go home." He said. Elizabeth lay in his arms. She smiled.

"I want to… give you a birthday party… Ciel…"

"Yes… Please do…" The young earl's face softened. Elizabeth closed her eyes, and the puppet pallor was gone from her cheeks.

"You can rest easy… it's all-" he was cut off.

"It's not all over, as it appears" Sebastian said. Drocell slowly picked himself up off the floor.

"How is he still alive?" Lily asked.

"… So I thought to myself… I will report to my master." He began to walk, and the filling spilled from his head.

"What's wrong with him?" Grell asked. "He's all torn up and he still wants to serve his master?"

"I can understand. You see, he's merely one hell of a butler… as am I."

"Mas…ter…" Drocell pushed open the door, and fell, the irises from his eyes gone. He was just a lifeless puppet. The blue light from the room filled the entire place.

There was a chair, which they saw a silhouette sitting in. Pluto sat happily beside the chair.

"Pluto!" the huge white dog looked up, and licked the hand of the person in the chair.

"Why is he being so friendly?"

"I'm sorry… my butler is incompetent, so I am unable to offer you hospitality." The voice said. Lily started, and flicked her blade out. She pointed it towards the person in the chair. "Please lower that thing, young lady. You are making me nervous."

"So you're behind this." Ciel said. "Why would you make girls into dolls?"

"Flowers, eras and also people are beautiful for only finite moments. Dollmaking is noble work, preserving in this world the most beautiful and perfect of people."

"You've got awful taste" Grell said. "What's so perfect about immature little-"

"Why are you after me?" Ciel asked. Grell stared at him in rage. "I won't be made into a doll and lovingly displayed somewhere. Neither will Lily."

"Know your place, boy. The girl I picked simply because she was there at the time."

"What"

"My butler's head is made of straw. I imagine he couldn't understand why I wanted you. Ciel Phantomhive, you were fated to die from your very birth. Your body is already unclean." He said. Ciel started. Flashbacks of his torture began in his head. "Unclean, unnecessary, unfruitful. Therefore I tried to snuff you out."

"What?"

"Snuff out the unclean, the unnecessary, the unfruitful" The voice began, and continued, the chair began to shake. "Snuff him out, snuff him out, snuff him out!"

"Don't play games with me!" Ciel ran forwards. In the chair there was just a life sized rag doll. In its lap sat a tiny puppet with jagged teeth. It snapped at Ciel and ran away, laughing.

"The person manipulating it is not here, my lord." Sebastian said. "I now notice there were invisible strings everywhere in the room."

"Not nice at all…" Lily remarked, and closed her eyes for a minute.


	5. Ciel's party

Chapter 5: Ciel's party.

The sun began to come up.

"Sebas-chan!" Grell said. "Now for our passionate kiss!" Grell said, throwing himself at Sebastian. Lily kicked him out of the way and he crashed into the ground. Sebastian carried Elizabeth in his arms.

"Now what shall we do, young master? Would you like me to avenge Madam Red now?" Sebastian asked.

"F-fine I'll leave your lips for next time!" Grell said, panicking. Lily laughed. He jumped. "bye bye!" He said, blowing a kiss to Sebastian before disappearing into the trees.

"Stop!"

"No, not today" Ciel said. "I don't want the scent of blood to reach Elizabeth more than it already has." He said, touching her cheek. He looked up at Lily. "Lily… thank you."

"For what?"

"For your help" Ciel said. "I'd like you to attend the party Elizabeth is throwing for me."

_Say no _Sebastian pleaded in his head. _Please say no… I don't want to be around you more than I have to… I can't have another attraction… Especially not when I hold a contract with someone else… _

"Of course, I'd love to." Lily said happily.

_Just my luck…_

*Later that evening*

"Happy birthday, Ciel!" Elizabeth said happily.

"Congratulations!" Everyone except Sebastian and Lily were wearing birthday hats. Only Elizabeth, Ciel and Lily were sitting, as they were nobles. Everyone else was standing.

"I'll serve the pudding then." Sebastian said, holding out a dish of Christmas pudding.

"What a bother… you could have cut it in the kitchen." He took a bite, and then spit out a ring. He looked at it. "This is…"

"It's Christmas pudding. After all, the season is almost upon us. If your portion contains a ring, you are guaranteed happiness." Sebastian said.

"Oh, I'm so happy!" Elizabeth said, grabbing Ciel's hand. "He said you'll be able to find happiness, Ciel!"

"I don't-"

"Paula, ring the bells!" Elizabeth called over her shoulder. Her maid, Paula nodded and called.

"Jingle, jingle!" The Phantomhive manor was full of shouts of laughter. Lily took a bite from her piece, and spit it out.

"What is this?" She asked.

"It's a thimble, my lady" Sebastian said. She looked at it curiously, staring at the little circular piece of metal full of holes.

"Ooh, even I know what that means!" Elizabeth said excitedly. "It means you're going to get married soon, Lily"

Lily laughed. "I don't think so. You should have gotten the thimble, Elizabeth."


	6. Fire and pain

Chapter 6: The fire

A month passed easily, and Ciel and Lily were now good friends, much to Sebastian's dismay. If Elizabeth would come over, she would bring Lily, and Sebastian would excuse himself to do some sort of chore he had most likely already done. He would take his dear sweet time doing that specific chore, and would stay out of Lily's sight until he was certain she had left.

He knew he was being stupid, but he didn't want another attraction. No one had told him he couldn't just ignore an attraction until it went away. Or if it could even go away… he had no idea. He hated the thought of being stuck to that woman. He didn't have anything personal against her, but after Catherine… Catherine had known he was a demon. How would he tell Lily? If they had an attraction, sooner or later, he would have to say something.

He drove the cart forwards, heading home from one of Ciel's business trips. Suddenly, he felt a searing pain in his arm, as if it had been burnt by fire. He smelled smoke in the air. He felt a memory flood into his head, a thought that wasn't his own. He saw a house completely engulfed in flames behind his eyelids, and heard Lily's shriek of pain as she tried to get out of the house, but tripped and burned her arm.

"Young master!" He called. Ciel looked out of the carriage. Sebastian pointed to the thick cloud of charred black smoke that was rising into the air.

"That's near where Elizabeth lives!"

"That is Lily's house… We have to go save her." Sebastian said.

"That isn't like you, Sebastian. Why are you panicking?" Ciel asked.

"I can feel her pain" He said as he turned the horses sharply to the left. They got closer to the burning house. Ciel stared at the house in horror. Sebastian knew seeing another fire for him must be like re living that time where his parents had died. He jumped out of the carriage.

"Young master, please wait in here." He ran towards the house. He could feel her pain and her fear. That was one of the down sides of having an attraction. However, because of the attraction, he knew exactly where she was. She was in the second room to the left on the second floor by the staircase. He jumped over the roaring flames and ran up the stairs to the second floor. There she was, sitting, unable to walk, looking like a trapped rabbit. Her eyes widened as she recognized him. He picked her up gently, and ran with her.

He jumped out the window just as the second floor exploded into flames. They landed safely in the nearby bush. He helped her stand. She threw her arms around him.

"Thank you so much" She said. He awkwardly hugged her back, and helped her move towards the carriage. Ciel's face was ashen.

"Lily, are you okay?" he asked, grabbing her shoulders.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine." He said, staring at the two burns on her arm and her leg.

"They're not that bad. I'll just wash it off later." She said.

"Lily…that was your house that burnt down. You don't have anywhere to stay, do you?"

"No… I guess I could always just ask Aunt Frances…"

"Would you like to stay with us for a little bit?" Ciel asked. Sebastian stared at him incredulously._ Why? Why would you ask something like that? We don't need her here! We don't need her at all! _"We have a spare room that isn't being used. Why don't you come with us?" Lily looked at him.

"Thank you… I'd love to stay."

_Of course… at least I don't have to be in the cab with her._

They rode home as the firemen came galloping in, the carriage on which everyone stood careened as they pulled into the entryway of Lily's mansion.

"Sebastian, take the kit I keep in the basement and treat her injuries, all right?"

"Yes, young master, at once…" He walked down into the basement. He felt like hitting his head on a wall. This was so frustrating for him. He grabbed the box and walked back up from the basement. The little taps of rain made him look sideways. The mansion was oddly quiet today. No Maylene breaking dishes, no Bard blowing up meals, no Pluto burning up trees outside. It seemed strange that everything was going well today. Maylene actually picked the dishes up one by one, Bard didn't use a flamethrower, and Pluto sat quietly in the garden. He walked upstairs. Once again, another annoyance… her room was directly across from his. He knocked quietly on the door.

"Come in"

He walked inside, carrying the tray. He set it down quietly on the table. It was completely silent except for the rain.

"You were hurt pretty badly. My master requested that your injuries be tended to." She nodded. He took her arm gently, and rolled back the sleeve. He could do this better than anyone else could, because he could feel it if he caused her pain by accident. The burn was rather bad. He knew how much it hurt her, and that she was just acting brave.

"If it hurts, you can tell me, and I'll stop." He said.

"It doesn't hurt. Your touch is really gentle, Sebastian." He cleaned it out, and put bandages on top of it. He noticed a scar on her left hand. It was tiny, and could barely be seen, but it was there, a white stain on a perfect canvas. It reminded him of the scar Catherine had on her left hand. He bandaged up her leg next.

"Sebastian?"

"Yes?"

"That red headed person said something yesterday about Grim Reapers. What was he talking about?"

"I wouldn't listen to him, my lady. He is insane." He said. She smiled. "I will come back shortly." He said before walking out of the door. Lily fell back against the pillows, listening to the pitter pattering of the rain. Before she knew it, the exhaustion of the day caught up with her, and she fell asleep.

_The ball was full of women in colorful dresses, and their partners, dancing a lively Viennese Waltz. The man with long black hair helped Catherine out of the carriage._

"_You look beautiful, my lady." He said._

"_Flattery will get you nowhere, Adrian."_

"_Of course, my lady" _

_She was dressed in a very simple turquoise gown with a wide neckline and matching jewels. They walked inside and joined the dance. They danced exquisitely well, and pretty soon they were dancing in the very center of the crowd._

"_You know, you could loosen up once in a while. You're not my butler, but my escort. You could enjoy yourself and smile." She said to him. He brushed one of her long brown curls out of her eyes and smiled._

"_Does that satisfy you enough, my lady?"_

"_Only if it satisfies you"_

"_Come now, I am merely a butler"_

"_As well as my future husband once you take me home to break the contract." She said quietly in his ear. He smiled again._

"_Husband is a rather different word. Demons don't get married. But, simply put, I cannot wait for that day to come. Until then, my lady, I am merely your butler, here to do as you please."_

_The dance ended, and the adorable couple walked out onto the balcony._

"_The night is beautiful, isn't it?" She asked._

"_I guess you could say that. However, nothing is beautiful when it is compared with you. I tell you that truthfully, as I am not allowed to lie to you."_

"_And you are not just a butler, Adrian. You are one hell of a butler." She said. He laughed at her joke._

Sebastian knocked quietly on the door. There was no response. He knew instantly she was asleep without even bothering to check. He smiled and walked back down the stairs.


	7. Invitation

Chapter 7: A full moon

Lily woke up. Her dreams were making less and less sense every day. What was all this talk about demons and grim reapers? Was her world going crazy? She peeled the bandages off her burns. They seemed to be healing fast. She still couldn't move her arm, however. She kept the bandages on, because her skin was bright red and didn't look too pretty. Someone had put a bunch of brand new clothes by her bed. She looked through them all.

She just put on a simple purple dress. There was nothing in there that was black! Instantly, she knew who had sent the clothes. Lizzie hated black, and she hated her wearing it all the time. She kept saying it wasn't a cute color. So the only black thing she had was the semi burned dress that she had fallen asleep in. She ran down the stairs.

Downstairs, Ciel was talking with someone.

"No, for the last time, Elizabeth, I am not going to that ball."

"Aw, please, Ciel? I don't have anyone to go with me, and I have to go since it's at my place. Please?"

"I'll think about it…"

"Yay, thank you" Lily walked into the room. "Lily!" Elizabeth crashed into her, hugging her so hard she thought her wounds would reopen.

"Lizzie"

"I was so worried when I heard your house burnt down!"

"I'm fine, though." Lily said.

"Ciel and I were just talking about the ball mom is hosting tomorrow night. She invited you too, you know." Elizabeth said as she led her into a chair. Sebastian walked in, carrying three cups of tea.

"I don't have any fancy dresses, though. They all burned in the fire."

"I can give you some of mom's old dresses!"

"I don't have anyone to go with"

"We'll find you someone by tomorrow!"

Lily sighed. There was no arguing with Elizabeth.

"I might have the solution for that." Ciel said. "Sebastian, Aunt Frances is holding a ball tomorrow night. You are required to go, as I am going. Lily needs an escort." At the last second, though it was barely visible to anyone, Sebastian's hand shook, and the tea in the cup sloshed a little on the sides.

"Of course… I would be… happy… to take you, My Lady." He said, cursing his own bad luck and his arrogant young master. _This brat… er…young master… It seems like he's doing this to me on purpose._

Lily saw however, that he didn't want to go with her. She didn't know the reason why, of course. She just thought that Sebastian hated her. It wasn't a very nice feeling.

"I'll be outside if anyone needs me." She said, and stood up. She walked out without another word. Sebastian quietly followed her without letting her know he was there. He watched her sit out in the garden for a little bit. Pluto walked up to her and sniffed her. She petted him several times. Finni had already told her the story of how Pluto came to be at this manor. She had taken a liking to the dog version of Pluto.

He walked into the kitchen and filled two mugs with hot tea. He walked outside.

"Aren't you cold, my lady?" She started and stared up at him, her gaze penetrating him just as Catherine's had.

"Oh, no… I love winter. I don't mind the cold." She said. He sat beside her on the stone bench and offered her a mug. She accepted with pleasure.

"Do you like winter, Sebastian?"

"To be honest, not really. It's too cold and frigid for my liking. I like the spring better." He said, thinking about the ball that he and Catherine attended, just two months before her death, and two days before he was supposed to turn her into a demon and end the contract.

"Winter is the only season when you have snow. It never looks this pretty on any other season."

"True, but I hate the color white"

"Me too… I prefer black."

They continued the conversation for a few minutes. Sebastian had only walked outside because he didn't want her to think that he hated her, and the fact that staying away from her was really hard. He stood up.

"I have to go deliver a letter for the young master at noon. Would you like to come with me? I know a very nice place nearby where we can go for a walk. It's not good for a lady such as yourself to be cooped up in a manor all day." He said. She smiled and nodded. He helped her up, and they walked back to the manor.

The place Sebastian had picked out was actually very pretty. It was a snow covered forest, but the trees were so sparse that everything was visible. There was a light layer of frost on the ground and on the trees, and the sun danced over the snow, making everything sparkle like a million diamonds.

She heard a light rustling noise and paused. She ducked behind a tree. There was more rustling. She walked back, with a snow white kitten sitting in her arms, its big green eyes wandering around. It leaned against her and purred.

"Isn't it adorable?" She asked. She passed the kitten to Sebastian.

"Yes…" He said as he petted the cat.

"You're a real cat lover, aren't you?" She asked, laughing.

"Yes. I love cats…" He said, scratching the kitten behind its ears. Pretty soon, the mother cat came along, and they set the kitten down to run along with its mother.

They spent some really good time together. Sebastian decided that he wasn't going to avoid her as much anymore; he just wouldn't let the attraction progress. He should be able to do at least that.

If he decided that he did want to try again, he would mark her the first chance he got and lend her a bit of his powers. If the same incident with Catherine happened, she would at least be able to defend herself. The mark would then slowly convert her into a demon. He would then send her to the demon world, where she could wait for him to finish his contract with Ciel. She would be safe there.

However… Telling her he was a demon would be one _hell_ of a challenge.


	8. The ball

Chapter 8: The ball

The evening of the ball came quickly. Elizabeth stopped by a few hours before to bring Lily's dress and help get her ready.

"Ta-da! What do you think?" Elizabeth asked as she held up a beautiful turquoise and white sleeveless dress.

"I think…" _I think that it looks almost exactly like Catherine's… _"…it's perfect"

"Oh, why don't we curl your hair, too? It looks so limp when it's straight!"

"Fine, do what you want, Lizzie."

Lily did up her bandaged arm as nicely as she could, and slid on a white pair of long white gloves to hide the bandages. She slid on a pair of white shoes, and slid a white pin with a white lily in her now curled, pinned up auburn hair. She walked up to the mirror. With her curly hair, pretty dress and gloves, she looked exactly like Catherine. She carefully clasped long dangly turquoise and silver earrings in place of her little diamond studs. Elizabeth did up the large bow at the back.

"There… you're officially perfect." Elizabeth said with satisfaction. Lily did a few twirls for fun, minding the very small train at the back of her dress. "Come on, now let's go. We don't want to make them wait for us, do we?" She asked. Lily shook her head, and nervously followed Elizabeth out into the hallway.

Sebastian heard her coming before he saw her. And then she walked out, following Elizabeth. She walked down the stairs like a princess. He couldn't stop thinking about how much she looked like Catherine. Her hair was now curled like hers, and done up the exact same way Catherine had worn her hair to that ball. Her dress resembled Catherine's. It was simple, yet the ruffles and various shades of turquoise and white made it look complex. It was plain, yet beautiful, just like her. Her long eyelashes cast shadows on her cheeks as she looked down shyly.

"Um… do I look okay?" She asked nervously.

"You look absolutely stunning, my lady." He said, taking her hand. She smiled. They arrived at the ball rather early. He helped Ciel and Elizabeth out of the carriage, and helped Lily out of the carriage as well.

"You really do look lovely, my lady."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, Sebastian."

"Of course, my lady" Instead of the conversation being painfully familiar, he just smiled. He was enjoying himself.

"Do call me Lily once in a while. 'My Lady' sounds too formal. It makes me uncomfortable."

"Okay… Lily"

They walked in, winding their way around everyone. Sebastian held onto her hurt arm, so that if someone bumped into her, it wouldn't hurt as much. The room was crowded, full of people. There were a few familiar faces that she recognized… her old childhood friend the Viscount Druitt, Aunt Frances standing in a corner with a glass of champagne, talking strictly to someone she didn't know, and finally a rather generic looking man standing in a corner. She carefully pointed him out to Sebastian.

"Keep me away from that man, if you don't mind." She whispered. Sebastian didn't even ask why, he just nodded and led her away. A dance began, and it was a lively Viennese waltz. He spun Lily around effortlessly and she laughed.

"Really, now, is there anything you can't do?" She asked.

_Yes… I can't seem to sort out my emotions in my head. You are really confusing me, Lilyanne Middleford._

"Yes, there are several things that even I can't do." Sebastian said.

"Somehow I doubt it." She said, and smiled. He returned the smile. Someone tapped on Sebastian's shoulder. The bright purple eyes sparkled with recognition as he saw Lily and his face broke into a smile.

"Do you mind if I cut in?" He asked.

"Not at all" Sebastian said, and moved away.

"Hello, my lord" She said happily.

"It's so lovely to see you my darling, oh how time flies! It seems like only yesterday we were children, without a care in the world! And now you stand here before my eyes, as lovely and flourishing as the flower after which you take your name. Time is so cruel!"

"Indeed it is" She said as they danced. "How have you been?"

"I've been doing pretty well, and my business as a judge of events is flourishing! You won't believe it, but I've been chosen as a judge for the upcoming curry competition!"

"I wasn't aware that curry was a favourite dish of yours"

"All food has its amazing and unique taste"

"Well, I'm glad your artistic talent is getting you the fortune you deserve, my lord" She said. A finger tapped on the Viscount's shoulder.

"Mind if I cut in?" The voice was gruff. After a farewell, the Viscount moved off. She instantly recognized it. _Oh god… why did he have to come… Sebastian, help me!" _

"Actually, She promised that she would dance with me next, didn't you, my lady?"

"Yes, I did, please forgive me." She said as she nearly fell into Sebastian's arms. He took hold of her arm gently, but possessively at the same time, and she clung on to it as if it were a life boat.

"However, I cut in first." The man said, moving forwards. She took a step forwards as well.

"I haven't had the chance to dance with my escort all night, so if you would please be so considerate as to step off." She said, her voice sounding as cold as the icicles that fell from the roof of the manor every now and then.

"Sorry, but it's not going to happen. You have delayed our dates for the past two years. Has it ever occurred to you that I might want a dance with the woman I wish to marry?" He asked.

"Forgive me, but I have already started dating someone else." She said.

"I'll forgive you if you dance with me right now." He grabbed her by her hurt arm and dragged her forwards. Sebastian felt the scalding pain as his rough hand nearly ripped apart the newly healed flesh over the burn.

"Ow, ow, ow, please let go!" She cried. In a flash, Sebastian ran over, and brought the flat side of his hand down on the man's fingers, breaking all of them in one go. He let go of her arm, howling in pain.

"You should know when to back down" Sebastian said as he took Lily's hand and they disappeared from where the man was on his knees, holding his broken hand. It was as if they never had been there.

The new dance began. As they danced, Lily still saw traces of anger in Sebastian's face. He was very good at keeping his face an emotionless mask, but Lily could practically feel the tension and anger he was giving off.

"You know, you could loosen up a bit. This is a ball, after all. You should be enjoying yourself."

"After what he did to you?"

"It's fine, really, it is. He has his nasty qualities, but let's forget about all that. He won't trouble us again." She said, smiling. She had shaken it off that fast? Sure enough, Sebastian felt no pain from his arm, which meant that her arm was just fine. He relaxed a little. "Besides, I don't like to see you angry. It makes me worried."

"You shouldn't worry about me, my lady. I am merely a butler, after all."

"No, you're one hell of a butler." She said, and laughed. "Isn't that what you always say?" He laughed with her.

"It is."

"Besides, you're not a butler to me. I see you as an equal."

"As you wish"

Lily spent the rest of the night in Sebastian's arms. She felt very safe and comfortable dancing with him. There was something about him that was unlike anyone else. She even thought that she might be in love with him.

It was of course, something questionable, as she had never truly loved anyone before, however Sebastian certainly had a way with words and with everything he did. His smile seemed to draw her in, and his eyes were such an unusual color. She had never seen anyone with red eyes. She smiled as the dance ended, and Sebastian asked for another. She instantly accepted.

_Love… if there is such thing, I think I may have found it. However, it's a whole other question whether he loves me or not._


	9. Catherine's tears

Chapter 9: Catherine's tears.

_The room was slightly dark, as the sun slowly began to come up. Sebastian was sitting on the couch. Beside him, Catherine slept soundly, her head in his lap. Her grey eyes opened to the rising sun._

_ "Good morning, Catherine."_

_ "Good morning, Adrian" She yawned. Lily didn't understand why she was calling Sebastian that name. His name was Sebastian, not Adrian. Hadn't it always been? Either way, Sebastian couldn't have been older than twenty now. If this was almost forty years ago, then he would have been an old man had this been him. She kept watching, sifting through the dream._

_ "Well… two days left. I can't wait" She said as she sat up, and Sebastian put his arm around her._

_ "You can't wait to become a monster?"_

_ "Demons aren't monsters. You proved that yourself. You aren't a monster." She said, tucking a stray strand of his black hair behind his ear. "I can't believe how well this turned out. I get to keep my life, and more importantly, I get to keep you. As long as we're together, I don't care about what I look like as a demon" She said happily as she inspected her hand. A bright purple symbol glowed there. "See, it's even brighter today" _

_ "That's a good sign" Sebastian said. Their faces were illuminated by the golden glow that came from the sky. Lily tried to put two and two together. Demons…? Grim reapers…? Her world really was going crazy. She kept watching the dream. She watched as Catherine signed several legal papers, and then handed them to Sebastian._

_ "That should be enough coverage for my family for when I leave. They'll have to think I'm dead, won't they?" _

_ "Yes… that is inevitable. I'm very sorry about that, Catherine"_

_ "Don't be sorry. They'll get over it. They'll most likely figure out that I've ran away with you once they notice you're gone from the neighbourhood too." Sebastian smiled._

_ "Well… I don't want it to seem like I've kidnapped you." _

_ "Not that I mind if you do" She said between giggles._

_ This seemed to be a very hopeful picture for Lily. She couldn't understand what had happened next. Had Catherine actually died? As if a response to her question, the memory changed quickly. She was with Sebastian, and he was running through the streets. _

_ Had today really been the same day as the memory? The sky here was unrecognizable from the pretty glow earlier. It was dark and cloudy. Vaguely from far away, she could hear people screaming, calling out names, an abandoned child crying over a bloody body in the streets. Sebastian raced onwards. A large abandoned factory loomed in the distance._

_ "What was she thinking?" He asked himself as he increased his speed. Sebastian ran from building to building, practically flying towards the factory. Lily felt his sense of urgency, his panic. From what she guessed, Catherine was in that building._

_ The next minute, she was in the building. Sebastian was nowhere to be seen. Catherine stood pressed against the wall. She had barricaded herself in. Suddenly, the door flew open, along with everything blocking the door. A white blur ran into the room._

_ Catherine screamed again and again as the thing stabbed her once, twice, three times with a sharp metal sword. It bore down on her to hurt her again, but Sebastian flew into the room and kicked it away. It jumped out the window as fast as it could go. Lily still had no idea what it could have been. It had moved so fast she didn't see anything but a blur._

_ Sebastian knelt beside Catherine, who had slumped to the floor, her pretty purple dress covered in blood. He gently lifted her into his arms, the sadness and pain in his eyes almost unbearable to look at for Lily. _

"_You stupid girl, what were you thinking?" He asked. Catherine drew a shaky breath._

"_I…I wanted to protect you… it wanted to kill you…" Sebastian stayed silent._

"_What will I do without you?" He asked, pain in every syllable of his voice. _

"_You won't lose me" she coughed, and her mouth was red and shining with blood. "I'll always be with you one way or another." She said as she reached for his hand. He took it and held it tenderly against his cheek._

"_Promise me you'll be able to find someone else." She whispered. "Promise me you won't let today get in between us. I will return someday, and I'll be waiting for you." Sebastian nodded. The bright purple mark on her hand began to fade slowly but surely until only a faint outline remained. Tears began to spill down Catherine's cheeks. Lily knew Catherine was not crying because she was about to die. She was crying because of the pain he felt. _

"_I will always love you, and I will always be yours." Her voice could barely be heard. The mark faded completely. Her hand went limp and fell to the ground. And with those words, Catherine Rosen died. Sebastian just sat there holding her hand. He bowed his head and sat there silently, holding her hand. He took one of his gloves off. His fingernails were completely black. The same symbol that had been on Catherine's hand was drawn on his hand. He put his hand to her forehead. The mark shined bright for a second and then faded. He stood up, and walked away, his head down, looking more broken than Lily had ever seen him in life._

Lily woke up with a start. One tear slowly followed another. She pulled her head to her knees and cried in the dark. Sebastian… She had felt his pain. She knew why he wouldn't accept her now. He was afraid for her to be hurt… he didn't want her to end up like Catherine. Catherine, who he had loved, who he had adored beyond anything else in the world, lying dead in his arms. She couldn't get the image out of her head. She wiped her eyes.

_How could anyone survive, watching their true love die in their arms? _


	10. The indian prince

Chapter 10: The Indian prince

Lily woke up early the next morning. Because of that nightmare, she hadn't slept at all. Her large green eyes, however, showed no signs of sleep deprivation. She ran downstairs. Sebastian and Ciel were getting their coats on.

"Where are you two going?"

"Scotland Yard has called us out to a scene in London. Would you like to come? Your brains could be an asset to us." Ciel said. Lily nodded, and began putting her coat on too. They rode out into London a few minutes later. The first thing she saw was a man hung upside down from a shop window. She noticed the Scotland Yard officers nearby. They walked closer. Not only one victim was hung upside down, but many men in a row. To each was taped a note.

"'This fellow is the child of craziness and laziness'" The officer read from the note. "'England is the blasphemous country that has taken all, and forced on us, its arrogant ways, its rotten culture. Retribution should befall the fools of the country that the hellcat rules.'" Below the note where one would place a signature was a sign that looked a little like a mouth with a tongue sticking out. He ripped the paper. "This is the twentieth one!" He said in anger. He moved to yell at the man next to him. "You still can't catch this criminal, Abberline?"

"I-I apologize, Sir Arthur"

"And we couldn't catch Jack the Ripper, so the brat got all the credit."

"Brat? Do you mean Ciel Phantomhive?" He asked. "I can't help but get the feeling that he carries some awful burden. And he's still just a child."

"A child?" Sir Arthur asked. At this moment, Ciel, Sebastian and Lily were moving practically silently, and Ciel moved to stand beside Abberline, listening to every word of the conversation.

"So all the victims had just come home from India, then?" Ciel asked.

"Ciel!" Abberline had just noticed him.

"No one seems to have died yet." He took a look at the letter. "The child of craziness and laziness…"

"He does have a way with words" Lily noted.

"I agree that our country would be rather improved if all these Nouveaux Riches fresh back from India just disappeared. Still… this mark…"

"He's mocking the queen and all Englishmen!" Sir Arthur said, taking the letter back. "He must be Indian"

"Oh, so that's what I was called in for" Ciel said. "Most of the Indians who come here illegally hole up in the criminal neighborhoods of the East End. The Yard still hasn't learned their exact numbers or routes, has it?" The man glared. "I can't allow Her Majesty to continue suffering such indignity. Let's go Sebastian, Lily"

"Yes" They both said at the same time, and followed Ciel. Pretty soon, they walked into that part of the neighborhood.

"I believe the Indians use this as their base." Sebastian said.

"Yes" Ciel said. He bumped into an Indian man.

"That hurt!" The man cried. "That hurt! I've cracked a rib! I'm done for! I might die!"

"Don't be stupid" Lily cried. "He just bumped into you."

"Hey, what's wrong?" Another Indian ran to his aid.

"That's awful, he needs to compensate you for that!" Inconspicuously, Lily reached for her jackknife and flipped it out to the longest blade.

"Leave us everything you have" The man said.

"We've been caught by very clichéd thugs" Sebastian said, addressing Ciel. "What shall we do, young master?"

"Hurry up and get rid of them"

"Certainly" Sebastian said, cracking his fingers. The Indian grabbed Ciel by the front of the collar.

"Everyone here hates you Britishers!" He took out a knife similar to Lily's. Sebastian reached up and flicked his forehead with two fingers. The man fell.

"Are you hurt?" He asked Ciel.

"No"

"You little bastard!" The man said, getting back up. "You drag us here and then you toss us away like rubbish!"

"Your people trampled filth on our homeland"

"Now you find out how humiliating it is, being looted!"

Lily shoved the jackknife into Sebastian's hand. His fingers closed around it, and he thanked her with his eyes.

"Wait!" A new voice called as the man raised his knife. An Indian man with purple hair and another with white hair walked up to them. "I'm looking for someone" He said, holding up a poorly drawn picture. "Have you seen an Indian who looks like this?"

"Who the hell are you? Stay out of this!" He said.

"Are you dueling?" The man with purple hair asked. He noticed Sebastian. "He has a khansama with him…" He walked closer. "Are you an English Nobleman?"

"What if I am?" Ciel asked.

"Then I will side with my countrymen. Agni"

"Yes"

"Defeat them"

"_Jo Ajna" _He said. "I shall brandish the right hand the heavens bestowed upon me for my master." He ran up. Sebastian grabbed Ciel and moved one way, and Lily moved the other. Seeing no interest in harming a woman, the Indian man named Agni kept attacking Sebastian. In a way, Lily was grateful for this, because she still hadn't regained the full use of her arm yet.

"He's fast" Sebastian said, blocking every one of Agni's hits. Lily gazed at him with pride. Agni jumped back, out of breath.

"I've hit your vital points over and over. A normal person's arms would have gone numb. Why can you still move?" He asked. Lily stared. _A normal person? _She thought about the dream with demons. Maybe it wasn't such rubbish. Sebastian dropped Ciel and Ciel stood up.

"We were just walking down the street! Are Indians savages who attack any Englishman who wanders by? What about that woman?" He gestured to Lily, who had moved to stand right by Sebastian's side. "Are Indians such savages that they would harm an innocent woman?"

"What?" The man with purple hair asked. "Did you fellows attack Shorty here for no reason?"

"Uh…"

"That's no good. My countrymen are in the wrong this time. Agni"

"Yes"

"Side with the kid"

"At once"

Thirty seconds later, the streets were completely crowded with beaten up Indian men, lying in heaps. It was really rather funny. Sebastian gave Lily back her jackknife. Apparently he hadn't needed it after all.

"I've finished, Prince Soma." He said.

"Good" He walked over and picked up Ciel's wide top hat. "Well then, I'm looking for someone, so I'll be on my way. Ta-ta" He said, and threw the hat. It landed right in Ciel's hands. They began to walk away. "The streets of England are too much like a maze."

"Let's turn left next."

Pretty soon, they had gone.

Sebastian, Lily and Ciel headed home.

"That was a waste of time" Ciel said as Sebastian took his coat off and hung it.

"One of those Indians might be the criminal. Let's wait for Sir Arthur to contact us." Sebastian reasoned.

"Young master, Sebastian, My lady, welcome home" All the servants said.

"I'll never get any peace if I'm called to London for every silly little thing." Suddenly the door creaked open. Lily jumped out of the way as Lau came into the room.

"My lord, you're really here." He spotted Lily. "Eh… popular with the ladies now, are you, my lord?"

"No, this is another noblewoman, Lily Middleford. She is staying here for a little bit." Sebastian said as Ciel bristled.

"You're just dropping in unannounced?" Ciel asked. "How often have I told you to at least send a note before visiting?" Lau laughed as he walked into the room.

"Ah, I vaguely remember that." He walked to Lily. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Lau"

"I'm Lily"

"Isn't that nice… our names start with the same letter."

_Not nice at all…_ Lily thought to herself.

"Since we have a guest, why don't I serve tea?" Sebastian asked, still in his black trench coat.

"Might as well" Ciel said.

"I'd rather have chai than English tea" A new voice said.

"Might as well" Ciel said, not paying attention. "Eh?" The two Indian men from before stood in the doorway.

"Wh-wha?" Ciel asked, pointing towards them.

"Oh, I met them in a street corner. They said they wanted to see you." Lau said, waving a hand towards the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" Ciel asked.

"Why, we're acquaintances now. Have you forgotten already?" Soma asked as Agni closed the door behind them.

"Acquaintances?" Ciel asked.

"And I saved you too" Soma said, walking up the stairs.

"Saved? Excuse me?" Lily had to laugh at how Ciel was now acting like a little child.

"In India, it's common practice to invite your savior home and entertain him." He said, heading up the stairs. Bard, Maylene and Finni just stood there like idiots. "Is it the British tradition to kick your savior out into the cold?"

Ciel gritted his teeth and ran up the stairs, slamming the door to the second spare room open.

"Just who are you, anyhow?" Sebastian and Lily were right behind him.

"Me?" Soma asked, with a smug look on his face.

"I'm a prince." He said, lounging on the bed.


	11. fencing

Chapter 11: A round of fencing

"A prince?" Sebastian asked.

"Really, now didn't you pay attention to what Agni was saying before?" Lily asked, smiling.

"This is the 26th child of the king of Bengal, Prince Soma Asman Kadar." Agni said.

"Thanks for hosting me here, Shorty" Soma said.

"Wow you're a prince?" Finni asked.

"I've never seen a prince up close before" Bard said.

"Well now you have" Lily snapped. "There's nothing to see here. Go do your chores or something." The servants walked away.

"She sounds like Sebastian when she's angry, yes she does…" They walked away, but instantly were back when Soma said

"You may approach"

"What is the Penkal palace like, huh?" Maylene asked.

"It's a holy land blessed by the goddess Kali and the Ganges river." Lau walked up behind Sebastian and Lily.

"So you brought your servants with you?"

"Yes, our guard dog is watching the mansion." Sebastian said. Pluto howled outside in response.

"Sebastian, don't let them out of your sight."

"Yes, my lord."

"Since there are two of them, I'll help as well." Lily said.

*The next morning*

The curtains opened.

"It's time to wake up, Lord Phantomhive" Ciel opened his eyes.

"Ugh… lord… Phantomhive?" He asked. "Eh?" He saw Agni. He was sure however, to keep his other eye closed.

"_Namaste ji, _Lord Phantomhive." Ciel stood up.

"What? Why are you in my room?" Ciel asked. Soma picked Ciel up and carried him around like a doll.

"We're going out, Shorty. Show us around town." Soma said.

"Why should I? And my name isn't Shorty, it's Ciel"

"All right, Ciel, I order you to show me around town." He began to run towards the door. "Come" He screeched to a halt. Sebastian stood in the doorway, Lily a few steps behind him. She was wearing a pretty gold dress today, and her hair was in a long braid.

"Pardon me, but my young master's schedule for today is filled with a lot of study and work, as well as you, My Lady." He said to Lily.

"What? Why me?"

"Well, I heard that you had a tutor before this, and that this was your last year in learning. I'm sure I can fill in for that tutor." Lily sighed.

Ciel and Lily stood together, with Sebastian on the other side.

"I shall be your tutor while we are in London" He said. Ciel was holding a violin, while Lily was seated by the piano.

"Bach's Chaconne?" Ciel asked, looking at the music. "I can't play something this difficult."

"I make the rules here" Sebastian said, tapping Ciel's chin with his bow and adjusting his glasses, which Lily was sure he put on just for fun

. Ciel poked it out of the way.

"Do you have a problem with my teaching methods?"

Ciel lifted the violin and began to play.

"You come in after he's done the first part, Lily" Lily nodded. Suddenly they heard a voice.

"Hey, get that thing off the piano!" Lily called.

"What are they doing?"

"They seem to be praying, but it's quite a surreal idol isn't it?" Lau said.

"To me it merely looks like the statue of a woman… carrying a severed head, wearing a necklace of severed heads and dancing madly on top of a man's stomach."

"She is Kali, a goddess of our Hindu faith." Agni said, his hands still together in prayer.

"A goddess of India?"

"Kali is the wife of Shiva and the goddess of power." He held up a picture. "Long ago, a demon rashly challenged her to a fight. Naturally she was victorious. However, afterwards her destructive urges were not quelled, and she abandoned herself to destruction and carnage. But then! To protect the Earth, her husband Shiva threw himself at her feet! Treading on her husband with her unclean feet brought Kali back to her senses, and peace returned to the world."

"Well there you have it" Ciel said, looking at Sebastian.

"Hmm… I wasn't aware of anyone so strong."

"Yeah, that's great, now could you please get this thing off the piano so I can finally practice?" Lily asked, slightly annoyed.

"Now, since we're done praying, it's time to go out!" Soma said, grabbing Ciel.

"I told you I'm busy!"

*later*

Soma lay on the carpet, bored.

"Honestly, when are you going to finish?" He asked as the clanging of swords got louder. "I say, what are you doing? I say…"

"Be quiet, you're distracting me!"

"Britishers are so short tempered" Soma said as Sebastian and Ciel fenced. Suddenly, he grabbed the sword out of Sebastian's hand.

"Fine, if you want my attention that badly, I'll oblige!" He threw a sword at Soma, who caught it.

"Then if I win, you'll go out on the town with me." Soma said.

"If you can win" Soma said. Agni smiled and poured tea into a cup.

"I wish you luck" He said.

"Begin!" Sebastian called. Soma charged.

"You're mine!" His sword clanged against Ciel's boot. "It bent…"

"Hitting someone's legs with a foil has no effect." He lunged.

"You're not fair! I don't know the rules!"

"A fight is a fight. It's your fault for not knowing." Ciel lunged with a confident smile on his face.

"Your highness, look out!" Agni caught the foil in a cup and hit Ciel's pressure point. Lily ran forwards, and before Agni could land a second hit, had caught him in a headlock, in such a position that he couldn't even twitch a finger. Ciel fell, and Lily released Agni.

"L-lord Phantomhive, I'm so sorry" He ran to Ciel's side. "When I saw the prince losing, my reflexes took over…" Soma laughed.

"Good job protecting your master, Agni, I commend you" He said. He looked at Lily, as did Agni, with a surprised look on both of their faces. "And you… I was shocked. How did you move so quickly?" He asked Lily. She dusted off her gold dress.

"Speed is the one thing I'm good at. I lack strength and coordination in a fight, but speed is one thing I can count on." She said. "You're lucky you only landed one hit on Ciel." She said to Agni.

"Why is that?"

"His fiancée would have killed you." She said. "I'm being fully serious." She added when Agni, Ciel and Soma started laughing.

"Agni is my _khansama_ (butler), he belongs to me. In other words, I win." Soma said.

"But… but" Ciel said.

"My my… butler, it looks like you'll have to avenge your master." Lau said, twirling and tossing the foil to Sebastian.

"This is what you get for provoking a novice who doesn't know the rules." Sebastian said. "However, as the Phantomhive butler, I cannot remain quiet when someone harms my master. And more importantly, we are a full ten minutes behind schedule." He said, putting his pocket watch back into his pocket.

"That's what you really care about, isn't it?" Ciel asked. _Actually, I would like for Lily to see my skills. _ Sebastian thought.

"Interesting… all right, I'll allow a duel. Agni, in the name of Kali, make sure you do not lose."]

"Sebastian, this is an order; shut that brat up!"

"_Jo Ajna"_

"Yes, my lord."

And with that, the fencing match began. They ducked and jumped evenly, and Ciel was surprised to see Agni match Sebastian's fighting skills. Lily was impressed to see Sebastian standing up to Agni. She had seen Agni fight, and had no idea how good Sebastian was until this point. Suddenly, both the foils snapped in half with the force.

"Good grief, the foils broke" Sebastian said, picking up his piece.

"Well, then it's a draw. Your _khansama _isn't bad, Ciel."

_A draw? Against Sebastian? _Ciel thought in surprise.

"Agni is the best warrior in my palace" Soma said as Ciel walked towards Sebastian. _He fought a demon on equal terms… _

"Sebastian, who is that man? Don't tell me he's another…"

"No, he's just a deadly human" Sebastian said.

"I see… but with that much power"

"He could easily hang men upside down…" He said.

"Ciel, come here, and you too, Lily" Those two walked forwards. Soma was holding two new swords.

"Frankly, I'm just curious. I would like to see more of that speed you showed us today, Lily" Soma said. Lily's eyes narrowed.

"I am not in a fit state to fight."

"Nonsense, you stopped Agni, didn't you?"

"With my right hand" She grumbled as she felt the bandages on her left arm under her sleeve.

"Why don't you fight Agni? I want to see which of you is faster?"

"He is, obviously" She said, catching the foil with her right hand. _If he touches my left hand even once, he'll practically kill me._ Sebastian seemed to be thinking the same thing. He watched with a look of worry on his face.

"I still want to see it for myself. I don't want you two to fight; I want you to lunge as fast as you can-" A resounding crash shook the room. Lily had thrown her sword into the rack which hung straight beside Soma's head.

"Forgive me, but I am in no fit state to do that. Please remember that we are in England, and not in India. I am not required to follow your orders here, especially an order I wouldn't be able to carry out otherwise. I managed to do it once, which was a miracle with all the injuries I have right now. I cannot do it again. Please excuse me."Every syllable shook with anger, and even Soma seemed surprised. She walked down the stairs to the basement without another word.

"Hmm… not a complacent type, is she?" Soma asked himself.


	12. A song

Chapter 12: A song

*in the kitchens*

"All right, today I'll whip up my very best-"

"I'll cook" Sebastian said, grabbing the saucepan out of Bard's hands. "You behave yourself."

"Excuse me? I was going to make my special-"

"Sebastian… I was wondering if I could be any service." Agni stood in the doorway.

"You just relax and enjoy yourself." Sebastian said.

"Two can work much faster than one. Please, ask me for anything."

"In that case, could you make a cottage pie and some gooseberry sauce for tonight's main dish?" Sebastian asked.

"Of course."

"Hey, why are you letting him cook but not the chef?" Bard asked. Sebastian just walked off. "Hey, are you listening?"

"So much to do… so much to do…" He said as he walked out the door. Bard plopped himself down on a crate.

"Chef… chef…"

"Chef? You mean me?"

"Yes" Bard's eyes lit up.

"I'm not accustomed to English cooking. Might I ask for your help?"

"S-sure! Leave it to me!"

Minutes later, Bard was chopping up onions.

"What's for supper?" Finni asked as he poked his head through the door.

"Perfect timing, young man" Agni said happily. "Would you help us prepare this evening's meal?"

"What? Me?" Finni asked. "But I don't know my own strength… so Sebastian says I should stay away from the kitchen."

"So you're strong. Excellent." Agni dug into the pot and got out a potato. "We need to mash and then puree these potatoes, but it's a lot of work."

"Even I might be able to do that." Finni said.

A few minutes later, a quiet tap on the door made them look up. Lily was now dressed in a very plain short brown dress, and balancing a few trays of gooseberries as she propped open the door and walked into the kitchen.

"Ah, thank you, miss. Would you like to help us, too? These berries need quick mashing; someone like you should do it perfectly." Agni said. Lily nodded and got to work, quickly pounding the berries with a hammer, doing it quickly and easily, without any of the juices spraying anywhere. She was wearing a short sleeved dress. The bandages seemed very prominent, as they ran all the way up her arm. She worked right beside Agni.

"I wanted to apologize for my behaviour earlier today. I should not have gotten so angry." She said.

"It's all right. I'm sure that if the Prince knew you were injured, he would never have asked you to do such a task." He looked at her bandaged arm and leg. "If you do not mind me asking, how did you get injured?"

"My house caught on fire a week ago." She said, pounding the berries to a very fine sauce. "I hurt myself pretty badly, trying to get out. Sebastian saved me, though. He's the reason I'm here right now." She said. Agni nodded.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment." He walked upstairs, and then walked back down a moment later with Maylene who was blushing like crazy. Pretty soon, even Sebastian came. He was very surprised when he saw everyone cooking and cleaning.

"Now that everyone is helping I'm sure the dinner will taste delicious" Agni said.

*during dinner*

Sebastian served a plate of cottage pie and walked out.

"How long are you people planning to stay here?" Ciel asked. Lily prodded her cottage pie, not really in the mood for eating.

"We'll leave when our business is finished" Soma said. Lily wished he would leave sooner. She had nothing against the prince, but what he had asked her today proved him a very selfish person in her eyes. She sat between Soma and Ciel, her eyes cast down.

"Come to think of it, you said you were searching for someone, right?"

"And why are you staying here too?" Lau asked Soma.

"An interesting question" Soma flipped out the bad drawing again. "I'm looking for a woman. Her name is Mina. She was a servant at my palace."

"Sebastian" Sebastian walked up to the table. "Does this give you enough to find her?"

"Even I can't do much with this… I'll try my best."

"And, what is she doing in England?" Ciel asked.

"Mina was my attendant… more or less my nursemaid. She'd been with me ever since I could remember. My father and mother never even looked my way. I was always alone in the palace… but Mina always stayed by my side. But… A British nobleman with his eye on her kidnapped her and took her to England while I was away."

"In other words, you came to get her back." Ciel said, picking at a piece of his mashed potato with a fork.

"Yes, I'll get her back and bring her home with me no matter what."

"That's a lot of fuss over one servant." Ciel said. Soma stood up.

"No it's not!" He grabbed Ciel. "Can you even comprehend my despair at being separated from her? Can you imagine how much I-"

"-No, I can't. The kind of trifling despair that would inspire? I don't understand, and I don't care to." Ciel said. In Ciel's eyes, he saw the pictures of his family, and the house that burnt down. In Lily's eyes, she was replaying the carriage accident that had killed her parents as a little girl. Ciel slapped his hand away. Lily stood up.

"Ciel is right." Lily walked to stand beside Ciel.

"Some things no amount of struggling will get back…" Ciel said with his hand on the door.

"… And some despair can never be escaped." Lily finished. He opened the door and let Lily walk inside first.

"Maybe you can't understand that, though." He closed the door, leaving Soma alone.

"But… but still, I don't want this! I don't want to be alone in that palace!"

* Later that evening*

Lily walked quietly into the moonlit room, without turning on the light. She walked to the piano and pulled back the lid. She was a great composer, but never wrote down any of her music because she didn't want anyone to copy her works. She could remember them all in her head. However, this song wasn't one she had composed herself.

It sounded familiar to her, but she had no idea from where. The melody flowed into her head as she played.

Sebastian heard the faint notes of music coming from the music room. He walked closer. It was someone playing on the piano. It was a song he had heard very many times. It was a song Catherine played every single day on the piano when she was still alive. He had no idea why she loved that particular piece so much, but it had gradually grown on him. Sebastian never knew the name of the piece. He just referred to it as Catherine's melody.

And there it was, playing just as if Catherine herself was behind that door, playing. He felt as if he would crack the door open, and Catherine would look up from the piano and ask if he had been listening for the fifth time in a row. He walked closer. He inched the door open and watched her play. She sat in the exact same way Catherine had at the piano. She would always slouch at the piano. He would have to remind her to keep her back straight while she played. It was simple enough of a melody that she could play it even with the injuries to her forearm.

He felt closer to Lily than he had before. Could Catherine really have returned like she had promised? Did he actually have a chance of making this work? Could he turn Lily into a demon without having her die? He didn't know, but what he did know was that he would have a few words with Soma later. He wanted the prince to feel the pain that Lily and Ciel had felt at dinner. Stupid… Arrogant… was this the nature of all princes?

Sebastian heard a new noise, snow crunching outside. He quickly jumped onto the roof and watched as Agni hurried away.

"I knew he'd make a move."


	13. the servant's betrayal

Chapter 13: the servant's betrayal

"Who lives here?" Agni was let inside the gate to a manor.

"This is Harold West Jeb's estate. He handles a wide range of import goods from India." The five of them poked their heads around the wall. "He also owns stores, a coffeehouse and the like. I've met him once, and he's disgustingly obsessed with status."

"People at his coffeehouse were trussed and hung upside down, but since Mr. West, its representative, happened to be away, he escaped unharmed." Sebastian said.

"You think he's the one responsible?" Lily asked.

"I'm pretty sure."

"_Happened _to be away, eh?" Lau asked.

"Shall we have a look?" Ciel asked.

"I think it's worth it" Lily said. Without another word, Lily jumped over the wall with ease, swinging her hand on the cold brick wall.

"Can she do everything, just like you, Sebastian?" Ciel asked, shocked.

"I'm not sure for once…" Sebastian said as he picked Ciel up. He jumped much higher than Lily, of course, but still he was shocked that any normal human could jump that high. They crept inside the dark house, with Lau leading the way.

"Your jackknife please, Lady Lily" Lau said.

"Why should I give it to you?" Lily hissed.

"I might need it"

"Might" Lily repeated, but she gave it to him anyway. Lau opened the door and they looked out.

"Why not have a Scotch and relax?" A man's voice said. Agni sat on a couch, looking nervous and uptight. "Its top notch Scotch from Justerini and Brooks, holders of the royal warrant." He said as he brought it in front of Agni. When Agni refused, he just put it on the table.

"Our plans so far have been perfect" he said. "You've done well for me, Agni. You don't have to string up any more people." Lily stared up at Agni when he said that, and then up at Sebastian, who nodded. "We've crushed all of our major rivals." He grabbed Agni's bandaged hand. "With this godly right hand, the royal warrant is as good as mine."

"Royal Warrant?" Ciel asked. "So that's what this is about."

"It's that curry competition the Viscount told me about the night of the ball" Lily whispered. "He said that he would be a judge and that he would help choose who got a royal warrant"

"And if I carry out this plan as promised, Mina will…?" Agni asked. Soma's eyes widened.

"Mina?" He burst into the room before anyone could stop him.

"Who are you?" The man asked.

"Prince Soma!"

Ciel started after him, but Sebastian and Lily held him back.

"They'll recognize us. Let's watch and wait." Soma strode up to Agni and grabbed the front of his butler's shirt.

"Agni, you've known where Mina was?"

"Oh, so that's your master" The man said.

"You must be the one who took Mina away." He looked to Agni. "Agni, defeat him!" Instead of doing as he asked, the butler bit his lip and looked… almost frightened. "Agni, what are you waiting for?"

"We'll take that stupid prince and withdraw for now." Ciel said.

"But West will recognize the two of you."

"Please, leave it to me." Sebastian said.

"Agni, hit him to make him shut up." The man said. Agni's hands balled up into fists. "Agni" The man grinned. Agni strode forwards and raised his hand. Sebastian intercepted him, now wearing the deer's head on the wall. Back behind the wall, Lily was silently dying of laughter.

"Eh? Who the hell is this deer man?" The man asked.

"I am a deer who has come to take the prince home." Lily was having difficulty keeping her laughter silent.

"H-he might be a spy!" The man said.

"No… I'm just one hell of a deer"

"Agni! Kill him!" That shut Lily's laughter up in one go. She stared out the door, readying the jackknife she kept. She was ready to kill for Sebastian. No matter how nice Agni had been to her, he was not going near Sebastian. "You don't mind if your promise goes to waste?" Agni fell on his knees, crying blood.

"I have only one god… only one master… I vowed that I would only brandish this fist for my god's sake. For the crime of betraying that god… please forgive me!"

"Agni, don't tell me you're" Agni ripped off the bandages from his arm, which glowed purple. His eyes were pure glowing white, without any pupils or irises. He punched the ground in front of Sebastian, who jumped. He grabbed the prince and jumped again.

"It seems like there's trouble" Lau said, lifting up Ciel. "Let's make our escape."

"Hey! We'll attract attention if this keeps up! Take him and get out of here!" Ciel called.

"Certainly" Sebastian jumped out the window.

*later*

Tea was poured for everyone.

"That man was superhuman." Lau remarked.

"It's Samadhi, a state of mental concentration." Soma said. "When he gets like that, no one can touch him."

"Samadhi?" Ciel asked.

"I imagine it's a type of trance" Sebastian said. "He's producing superhuman power in absolute faith of his master. It's the power of faith, born from believing in and loving someone." Sebastian said. "A power we can never have"

"Then why would he betray me?" Soma asked. He banged his fist on the table. "Why do the people close to me leave?" He threw the china on the floor. Sebastian carefully moved Lily out of the way of the china shards, keeping a hold around her waist.

"Why you…"

"Why… why?" He ran out of the room.

"Really now…" Sebastian let go of Lily, who sat down carefully in Soma's empty seat, drawing her legs up slightly as not to step on the china shards. "Look at the china set I bought for my master, thinking it would suit him. Perhaps it will be time to retrain him." He said. That was the last straw for Sebastian. He had nearly hurt Lily again with his stupid tantrum. Naughty children are always punished.

The room was in semi darkness. Soma slept quietly. Sebastian ripped the covers off him and sent Soma tumbling down onto the floor.

"Ow… how rude!"

"Which of us is the rude one?" Sebastian asked thinking only of Lily and the trouble she went through yesterday when Soma had nearly forced her to fight one of his best servants, and of his young master, to whom Soma's visit had caused such inconvenience.

"This is England, and the residence of Earl Phantomhive." Sebastian said, rephrasing what Lily had said earlier. "You have no right to give me any orders here. You're just an ordinary brat." Soma looked up from the floor at Sebastian. "You're a helpless child who cannot do anything without Agni. And even he, your pillar of strength, has betrayed you."

"You're right. I have nothing now. I've lost everything." Sebastian laughed a mean little laugh.

"Lost? What a tiresome persecution mania you have here. You didn't 'lose' anything. You never had anything to begin with, isn't that right?"

"What?"

"The status you got from your parents, the castle you got from your parents, the servant you got from your parents. You've never owned a single thing in your life. Am I right?"

"You're wrong"

"The truth is, part of you knew about Agni. But you didn't even have the courage to find out on your own."

"You're wrong… you're wrong" he ran towards the door, but Sebastian slammed it shut.

"You know I'm not wrong. Posing as the tragic hero now that you've seen reality?" He asked mockingly. It was nice to finally let out some of the anger and confusion he was feeling on someone. "You're truly a hopeless brat"

"They all promised they'd stay with me forever" Soma said, falling down to his knees.

"That was lip service, obviously" Sebastian said, not heeding any kindness to the prince. Kindness he saved for only Ciel and Lily. "They wouldn't serve someone they got nothing in return from. In the slums, even a three year old would know that. No one actually loved you." Images of Catherine flashed into Sebastian's head. _Even I, who was lucky enough to have someone like her for even such a short period of time, gave something back to her. _

"That's enough of that" Ciel said, entering through the door, with Lily at his heels.

"Young master"

"Maybe I would have been the same way, if it hadn't been for that month."

"That month?"

"My family was killed, my house was burned down, and I suffered humiliation worse than you'd inflict on a beast. I was helpless, a child. Lily understands, as she was in a similar situation when she was younger. Her parents were killed in a carriage crash, and she watched them die with her own eyes. Shortly later, she was kidnapped and nearly killed, had she not found a way out."

"Those people purposely loosened a wheel on my parent's cab when they weren't looking. Those people were the same people who tortured Ciel." Lily said. "We came back here to make sure that those people suffer the same humiliation."

"If the Phantomhives and the Blackwell-Middlefords are a nuisance to those who killed our parents, then if we stay the family heads, they'll eventually come after us. I'm waiting for them to come here and kill me."

"Why would you go that far?" Soma asked.

"What good would melancholy and grief do us?" Ciel asked.

"Even a dead person can stand still and do nothing." Lily said.

"But we're alive and standing on our own power. If I'm going to die someday, I'm going to do so without regrets. I won't use high sounding words like revenge."

"This is all just to please us." Lily said, and Ciel nodded in agreement.

"It's a game to see whether we win, or they win. Even if I'm plunged to the depths of despair, if there's a spider's thread that I can crawl up, I'll take hold of it without giving up."

"We humans have the strength for that."

"It's up to each person whether they grab the thread or not, as Lily and I proved. Now, enough idle talk, Sebastian, I need to talk to you about West. Lily, you too."

They both nodded.

"Ciel!" Soma raced after them. "Lily!"

"I'm seventeen, but compared to you, Ciel, I'm so stupid and ignorant. Lily, even though you're older than me by three years only, you outclass me by almost fifty. I've just let myself get spoiled by the life my parents gave me… I knew Agni was worrying about something, yet I didn't even ask him about it. But I want to know. I want to see both of them in person and find out why they left me. So please, let me come with you!"

Ciel held up his hand.

"No" he said. "I don't want to chaperone a simpleton like you. Still… it's not as though the drawing room door has a lock on it…"

"Though I might place one on it soon" Sebastian whispered to Lily, and she laughed. Soma grabbed Ciel and hugged him.

"Ciel!"

"Wah!" he meant to say 'what', but Soma made him jump and it came out strangely.

"I'm sorry I vented by breaking the cups earlier. Please forgive me." He hid himself behind Ciel and stared at Sebastian. "I'm sorry to you too…" He said, looking at Sebastian with a fearful expression.

"Don't mention it, I find you interesting." Sebastian said.


	14. his butler, entering the competition

Chapter 14: His butler, entering the competition

Sebastian poured tea in the drawing room.

"I didn't figure West would be after a royal warrant." Ciel said. "Though it is something a man obsessed with status could think of."

"What is a royal warrant?" Soma asked.

"It's when the royal family officially endorses their favourite shops. The royal warrant holders are purveyors to the crown."

"One week from now, a curry exhibition will be held as part of the festivities at the Crystal Palace." Lily said, taking a sip of her tea. "The winner will be given a royal warrant."

"Curry?" Soma asked.

"Yes… I've heard that her majesty, a celebrated lover of curry, will be in attendance." Sebastian said.

"Hmm… the Viscount didn't mention that to me."

"Is he your main source of information?" Ciel asked Lily.

"Not always. He just loves to talk, and I happen to have a very good memory when it comes to these things."

"Either way, it's just a rumour. Ever since her husband, prince Albert died, she almost never appears in public."

"What's the connection in between the curry exhibition and the crimes?" Soma asked.

"Curry is the main attraction at West's coffeehouse. If he gets a royal warrant for his curry, his sales are sure to go up. In other words, he was using Agni to commit those crimes in order to crush his rivals in the curry show. Those insults to England were written to make us think that it was done by an Indian with a grudge against the British. He used Mina to make Agni do his dirty work, I imagine…" Sebastian gave Ciel a piece of paper. "For the sake of his god…" He pushed the paper towards Soma. He looked at the inscription with the tongue.

"Your people worship Kali, the goddess who sticks out her tongue. And Agni, who drew this worships… he did it all for you." Ciel said as Soma read the letter.

"Agni never really abandoned you, Soma" Lily said.

"I suppose he poured all his prayer and apology into those letters." Ciel took a sip of his tea.

"Even after leaving you, Agni believes in you and lives for you. You have a fine butler." Sebastian said.

"Agni…"

"Well, what a happy ending!" Lau said, clapping his hands together. "All right, our work here is done. Now we can leave the rest to the Yard"

"Wait! Then what will happen to Agni and Mina?"

"Who knows?"

"We've established the criminal underworld isn't behind this." Ciel said. "It has nothing to do with us."

"I know this is my problem… I'll try to think of a way to solve it myself."

"Excellent attitude." Ciel said, cracking his fingers. "I suppose I'll do my job too… I was called to London because of those silly crimes. Don't you think I deserve a little something for that, too?"

"Don't tell me that you're after the royal warrant, too, Ciel" Lily said, wagging her finger at the young lord.

"Fortunately, thanks to West, the famous curry places won't be able to enter the competition. So if our company enters and wins against West… then… the royal warrant is ours. I'd just been thinking of expanding the business into foodstuffs. If I start by winning a royal warrant, it's sure to generate buzz."

"But you only have a week. Can you get your curry experts and equipment in time?"

"I don't need those, do I, Sebastian?" Ciel asked, looking at Sebastian.

"A Phantomhive butler who can't do this much isn't worth his salt. I promise I will get you a royal warrant for-"

"That's impossible." Soma said. "There's no way you can win. They have Agni! He has the Godly Right Hand of Kali."

"Yes, Agni is a remarkable fighter, but this isn't a combat sport; this is cooking." Ciel said.

"That's my point. You don't know Agni's true power. You don't know true curry."

"True curry?"

"The key to curry is a mixture of spices. The possibilities are infinite. Choosing the best combination among them is an extremely difficult task. It's like trying to find one truth in a vast universe. But Agni can do it. He creates worlds out of nothingness. His power is on the same plane as the gods'. That's why people have called him the Godly Right Hand of Kali." Soma said, leaning back in his seat. "I've never tasted a curry more delicious than Agni's."

"I see… so his is the curry of Kali!" Lau said, leaning back in his chair and laughing.

"You heard the man." Ciel said to Sebastian.

"Goodness gracious, he sounds like a challenge."

The next minute, Prince Soma and Sebastian were standing in the kitchen. Soma was staring at the rows and rows of pots filled with curry.

"D-did you make all these yourself?"

"Yes. You're the only one who knows Agni's curry." He said, dipping a spoon in the nearest container of curry and filling a plate with it. "I'd like your help to make a divine curry as soon as possible."

"A-all right" He said. "If my eating curry is useful, I'll eat as much as you please!"

"Thank you"

"This is for Mina and Agni"

*Back at West's estate.*

"Thanks to you, every last rival has withdrawn. The only ones left are third rate brands I've never heard of and a toy company popular with kids." He said, tossing the papers to Agni. Agni looked at them.

_Funtom Company? Could the prince be…? _He stared at the papers in wonder.

"Don't worry; no one can defeat your godly right hand." West said, leaning back in his chair.

*back at the Phantomhive estate*

A knock on the door made Ciel look up.

"Pardon me" Sebastian said. "I've made gateau en chocolat for today's tea."

"Get the sabre I wear to audiences with Her Majesty." Ciel said, turning back to his work.

"You insist she won't come but you dress up anyway." Sebastian said with a small chuckle. "The queen's guard dog is as well trained as one would wish."

"Have you managed to make a curry better than Agni's?"

"No… according to the Prince, something is still lacking."

"Then you haven't got the time to be baking cakes. Get back to the kitchen."

"Very good, my lord"

"I'm not in the mood for chocolate right now. Drop it into the curry or something."

"Yes, my lord"

Sebastian walked back down the stairs to the kitchens. To his surprise, Lily was waiting for him, in the same plain brown dress she usually helped. She wasn't a maid or anything, but she sometimes liked to help the servants to make Sebastian's job easier. She was an incredibly kind person, to be caring about a demon like him. He shut the kitchen door behind him.

"Hey, how's the curry going?" She asked, looking at all the emptied curry pots.

"Not too good… something is still missing." He said. Lily looked at the chocolate cake Sebastian had in his hands.

"I just had an idea… when I was younger I would always go down into the kitchens and watch my chef cook. She was Indian too, and very nice. She would make the best curry ever, and I would watch as she did it. Do you know what she put into the curry? Chocolate" She said.

"Are you certain?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes, drop that cake into the curry and try it! It will taste much better."

"I'll take your word for it." Sebastian dropped the cake into the curry and stirred it around. He tasted it and his eyes widened. "Much better" He said. "Thank you, Lily. I think we will be able to win this now."


	15. the curry competition

Chapter 15: The curry competition

"Is this outfit in worn deference to the Queen, my lord?" Sebastian asked as he straightened Ciel's hat.

"Never mind the unnecessary chitchat" Ciel said."I take it you can really beat Agni?"

"Of course. I swear on the Phantomhive name that I shall win a royal warrant."

*at the competition*

Within minutes, they were at the Crystal Palace. Sebastian helped Ciel, Soma and Lily out of the cab. Lily had also dressed in one of her best outfits, despite the fact that she didn't really like the current monarch of Britain. She wore a pretty purple dress with matching purple jewels and a black fur petticoat. She walked quietly with the rest to the building.

"Well then, I have preparations to make, so I'll excuse myself." Sebastian said, and walked away.

"Good luck" Lily said. Soma saw an Indian figure walk through the crowd.

"Mina!" He yelled and ran towards her. The figure stopped.

"Soma-san?" She asked, her huge grey eyes widening. He ran and hugged her.

"Mina! Thank goodness, Agni got you back!" He stared at his servant happily. "You don't need to worry now, let's go back to the palace together!"

"Your highness…" She said, and her facial expression changed. She became haughty and cruel. "What are you, stupid?" She asked. He let go of her in surprise. "Go home with you? Don't make me laugh." She said, and took a step back. "Why the devil should I go back there?"

"I went through all this trouble to escape India. Some people can play all day and never work, just because they were born royal. But I have to be a servant until I die because of my caste! I don't want to live my whole life chained by the caste system." She said, raising her hands and turning around to face Soma.

"So… you wanted to go with West?" He asked.

"Yes! A lowly servant or a rich man's wife?" She asked. "Even a child would know which one is better. And I've had enough of taking care of you, you spoiled brat! I promised not to tell you, but seeing your face… You're old enough to know the truth, now." She walked away.

Soma was left standing there, a look of blank shock on his face.

*in the kitchens*

A man with brown hair and glasses listened to Sebastian's and Agni's conversation. He shut the door and slammed his fist on the wall.

"Damn… I can't win with the flavour I have now. Something is missing… something is…"

"You seem troubled" A soft woman's voice said. She was wearing a purple dress, and her eyes matched that color. Her short silvery hair billowed around her face. She was the very image of kindness. "Use this, if you like." She gave him a bag of spices. He opened it and sniffed.

"This is…" He said, staring at her.

Angela Blanc gave a knowing smile.

*back near the building*

"Thank you for waiting, everyone!" The announcer said. He was wearing a bright green suit. "It's time for the curry festival, put on by the best of London curry!" On the left hand side were the three judges. The Viscount winked at Lily. She smiled back, however her eyes were on the last person in the row of cooking chefs. Sebastian and Agni both stood out like sore thumbs from the group of chefs dressed in white. A movement behind her made her look. Soma had squeezed out of the crowd and walked away.

_Prince Soma… can't you stand to even see my face anymore? _Agni thought as he watched his prince, his god walk away from him.

"Let the cooking be-gin!" he yelled. Suddenly though, everyone stopped. A red carpet rolled out.

"Could it be?" The crowd whispered. Lily's eyes narrowed, not at the queen, however, but at the man who stood next to her. _Danger!_ Her mind screamed. _Danger! Stay away from him at all costs! _White hair, cold purple eyes… Lily suddenly remembered the white blur that had stabbed Catherine to death on that night. She would watch the judging. She slid to the back of the crowd to watch Sebastian, but to stay away from the sharp watchful eye of that man.

She laughed slightly as she watched the people's reaction to Sebastian dropping chocolate in the curry. She was happy to see that he had followed her advice.

"And time's up!" The man yelled. "It's time to judge! First up, we have Parson Tubb and Company's beef curry!"

A small plate was brought out for each of the judges.

"The beef is cut thickly and portioned generously" The first judge said. "Such a sumptuous recipe"

"However, this dull flavour and aroma…" The second judge said. "The idea of a professional chef using curry powder is outrageous!" The man stared, shocked that the judge had discovered his secret. The next person was up.

"Hmm…" The Viscount took a bite. "I take it that Dhol and company blends its own spices?" He asked the brown haired man.

"Y-yes, my lord!" He replied shakily. The viscount took another sniff.

"Hmm… there is one particularly magnificent scent" The man stared.

"However, it's unbalanced overall" The second judge, who seemed to be the critic said. "So that nice scent is standing out too much" He said.

"Well, we'll give him credit for the effort."

"Next is Chef Agni, from Harold West and company!" The announcer said. Agni brought up a plate of his curry.

"This is my curry" He said. "A thali of seven types of curry with blue lobster"

"W-what vivid colors!" The second judge exclaimed. He took a bite. "S-splendid! A tender and chewy texture and a delicate sweetness that spreads on the tongue!"

"And seven different curries" The first judge said in awe. The viscount's cheeks grew red, and lily knew he was about to launch into a speech.

"Oh, this is a beauteous woman I met at a ball! Seven jewels adorning your refined and exquisite form! The gold brooch in the shape of a dove, the sapphire and pearl choker, the silver bracelet, and in your hair, the beautiful white lily adorned with diamonds, each accentuating your natural beauty! You… you stole my heart!" He cried and the crowd clapped its approval. Lily blushed, knowing it was her he was talking about. It was a little odd that curry would remind the viscount of her, though.

"Such high praise!" The man said. "Next, we have Butler Sebastian, from Funtom company!"

Sebastian opened the lid.

"This is my curry."

It was just a bun. The judge took a bite of it. "Great scott! It's wonderful!" He cried. "The crunchy yet fluffy bread covering and the juicy curry inside give this magnificent gradations of texture!"

"What's most amazing is the structure that locks in the curry's scent and flavour!"

"Oh… this is a woman I met at a soiree!" Images of Ciel in a girl's dress flashed through his mind. "By day, you're a playful robin childishly twittering. But when night falls, you let me catch a glimpse of your true face, and I see a lady in her own right! I… I want to hold you in my arms!" The crowd gave its approval again. Ciel shuddered.

"Is this outcome a debate? We'll give the judges time to deliberate! In the meantime, feel free to try any curry you like!"

A little later, the queen tried Sebastian's cooking. Lily noticed that she didn't speak, she made her butler speak for her. He began to talk about equality, and fairness, when someone interrupted him.

"Don't make me laugh!" It was a woman's voice, coming from the curry table. Everyone looked over there. "How you flatter yourselves." She said, her eyes glowing red, emanating darkness. "Equality? Fair work? The queen of a wealthy country like this who's never done any hard work has no place saying that!" She yelled and broke all the dishes. West ran forwards.

"Mina, stop! You're in front of her majesty!"

"Out of my way!" She elbowed him so hard he flew into a tree. Suddenly, other people moved and became evil too, glowing red and emanating darkness. Sebastian ran towards Ciel and Lily, and moved them both behind him.

"The queen!" Ciel yelled and ran towards the queen to protect her.

"Young master!" Ciel found his way blocked by two people.

"I smell it… I smell it! Hatred and greed! The stench of the impure!" They surrounded Ciel and Lily. Ciel drew his sword, Lily drew her jackknife.

"Snuff out… the unclean" He said. Ciel's eyes widened and he froze over. The man was knocked out of the way by Sebastian.

"Do you intend to play the asura mowed down by Kali, my lord?" He asked.

"It's a demon's job to be the severed head that Kali carries" Ciel said. Sebastian smiled. "Sebastian, disprove the legends. Stop Kali!" He yelled. _Disprove the legends?_ Lily thought.

"Yes, My Lord"

Sebastian ran to fight. He fought well.

People were running out of the building.

"What happened here?" Soma asked, grabbing someone.

"An Indian woman suddenly went berserk!"

"What?"


	16. human body, demon heart

Chapter 16: Human body, demon heart

Back in the corner, Mina was fighting Sebastian. He dodged her every blow easily.

"You're skilled. I can see why you're called the goddess who mows down demons." He said.

"Mina" Soma said, watching the battle.

"My prince!" Agni ran up to soma

"Agni…

"I am… I am a French chef!" one of the men behind Agni yelled and charged. Agni hit him in the head without even batting an eye.

"Pardon me" He said as the man fell.

"Agni, what happened here?"

"Mina and some of the others tasted that curry and suddenly…" Soma bent down and tasted it.

"This is Kali Ma! My father told me about it once. It's a spice that reacts to the darkness in human hearts to greed and uncleanness and turns people into fiends."

He watched Mina fight Sebastian.

"Mina… I never knew your heart was so wounded."

"it's not your fault my prince. If she was possessed by that evil spice…"

"I know. Don't finish that sentence. I've always blamed everyone for everything… my loneliness… Mina leaving… Of course no one would love a brat like that. But you stayed by my side even when I didn't deserve it. I'm sorry for not realizing the truth before now. Will you still be my _khansama?_" he asked.

"Your highness…" He nodded. Soma closed his eyes and opened them again.

"Agni, stop Mina!"

"_Jo Ajna" _

"Sebastian!" Lily ran up the stairs. "Look out!" She yelled. She kicked a person out of the way as they were about to attack him from behind.

"Good one. Thank you, Lily" Sebastian said, not taking his eyes off Mina. Suddenly, she stopped and stared at Lily.

"You…" she said. Lily remained emotionless.

"Me" she said crossing her arms. "What do you want to say, goddess? They say you mow down demons, but you can't even mow down humans." She said.

"You are not a demon…" Mina hissed. "But you are bound to one. Your heart and soul are the possessions of a demon. One who loves a demon is the most unclean thing there is in the universe. You… you must be killed, and the demon too…" Lily froze. How could she be bound to a demon? Demons didn't exist, did they? Something clicked in her mind. She put two and two together. She looked at Mina, and then looked at Sebastian. Mina charged. Agni stepped in her path.

"I shall assist you" He said to Sebastian, who was glad for the diversion.

"You seem different. You've powered up even more. Did something happen?"

"Yes, right now I am invincible."

"I'll leave the two on the right to you, then." He said. They fought easily. The white haired man smiled. Lily moved to stand next to Ciel.

"You have a fine butler. It seems that my services won't be needed." He said to Ciel. Ciel turned around. "But don't you think it's a little odd? If this is all due to a certain spice, why are only some people affected? If the prince is right, I would think that far more people would have gone berserk. After all, in this world, there is no one with a truly pure heart, no one who is perfect."

Ciel stared at the curry buns lying on the floor. He remembered that after the judges tasted that particular curry, they had tasted Sebastian's. Those people who had eaten Sebastian's curry hadn't been affected.

Mina ran towards the queen.

"Mina, stop!" Soma jumped in front of her.

"You fool!" Ciel and Lily yelled at the same time.

_There is only one way to stop Kali. _Mina ran towards him.

"Come at me, Mina!" Mina ran, and then slipped on the lobster. Soma ran towards Mina.

"Forgive me…" He stepped on her with his foot.

"Sebastian, the curry buns! Feed them your curry!" Ciel yelled.

"Certainly" He jumped up and threw buns into people's mouths. _Kind curry made by a demon… An utterly vile joke. How very like him… _Ciel thought.

Lily watched Sebastian. How had she never noticed before? She merely thought that he had a lot of skill… but this… She wondered. No human could jump that high or move that fast. Even Agni only came close to Sebastian's power, and still not fully there. There was only one logical explanation. Sebastian wasn't human. He never was. He was a demon. That was Sebastian in those flashbacks she had of Catherine's life. He had stayed the same age for how long now?

One by one, the people slowly started returning to normal.

"Mina!" Soma knelt beside her.

"Soma… I was right… you are horrible." She fell down onto the floor again. The white haired man spoke.

"Her majesty bids me tell you 'these curry buns full of kindness defeated the demon spice and even healed those who had become devils. The winner of the royal warrant is decided.'"

The sunset was beautiful in the crystal building. People were cleaning up the mess everywhere.

"How will they be handled?" Ciel asked as they took Mina away on a stretcher.

"I do not believe they will be treated badly." The white haired man said. Lily stayed slightly behind Sebastian as not to go near him. "Lord Phantomhive, I congratulate you on your remarkable work today, and on obtaining a royal warrant. She bids me tell you; 'I apologize for causing you trouble. I have been watching your work closely. I am in the light, and you are in the shadow. Though our positions are different, I trust we wish for the same thing.'" The queen's butler put his hand over his heart and bowed slightly. "Please continue to serve her majesty."

"Yes" Ciel said.

"Goodbye then"

"Thank you, Ciel" Soma said. "If I'd never met you, I'd still be a selfish brat. Starting today, I'll learn many things and tour all England… no all the world until I become a man second to none!"

"Sebastian, your household has taught us many things. I don't know how to thank you." Agni said.

"Please raise your head. I fought for my own reasons. There is nothing you need to thank me for. The gods you believe in, Kali and Shiva, were able to realize their mistakes through their mutual pain. Just like the two of you now. And you know what they say 'no pain, no gain'." Agni smiled and got to his feet.

"I'm ashamed, having to relearn my beliefs from an Englishman."

"Nationality is irrelevant. All places, all times, are essentially the same. And so is human nature."

"Yes… just as the evening sun sets over the Ganges river, the sunset over the Thames river is equally beautiful."

It seemed like a very hopeful picture. Soma hugged Ciel to death while everyone watched him struggle. However, for Lily, things were just beginning to unravel. She needed answers from Sebastian, and she needed them now.


	17. bonded

Chapter 17: bonded

The crystal palace wasn't too far from the Phantomhive Estate, so it wasn't dark yet when they got back. Ciel was tired and went straight to bed, as did all the servants except for Sebastian. Lily stayed awake too.

"Shouldn't you go to bed too, my lady?" Sebastian asked.

"No, there's something I need to talk to you about." She said._ Here it goes…_ Sebastian thought to himself. _This is the main test, will she accept me or not?_

"Okay" They walked into the library. "What did you need to talk to me about?" Lily put her hands on her hips.

"What have you been hiding from me this entire time?" she asked.

"You will not believe me if I say it"

"After what Mina said today, I think I will."

"How much have you figured out?"

"Not much. All I know is that you're not human."

"You're right, I'm not. I'm a demon."

"I thought as much. Tell me your story. I've told you mine before." She said, and hesitated. "I want you to start from who Catherine Rosen was."

"How do you know about Catherine?"

"I keep having these strange dreams about her life with you when she was alive. I want to know about that. Start by telling me everything I need to know." she crossed her arms and sat down in a chair.

"Very well… Demons are practically soulless creatures. We are born with no human understanding of life, the only exception being if we were once human. We gain more human emotions as we get older, and begin to understand the way they think. Here is the one thing that separates Demons from humans, besides the power difference. Like humans need food and water, we need souls to survive. Human souls. The way we obtain human souls is by signing a contract with a human being. We become their servants and do their every command until what they wish to achieve is granted. Then, we take their souls and finish the contract. Our masters are allowed to name us whatever we want." He took off one of his gloves and showed her the glowing purple symbol.

"Demons place a mark on the human they have a contract with to be able to find them. Both of the young master's eyes work properly, he can see out of both. I placed this mark on his other eye. He wears an eye patch to keep it hidden."

"So you have a contract with him, then."

"Yes. I had such a contract with Catherine. She was my last master before Ciel. However, my contract with Catherine was special. It was never meant to be completed. At first it was, but then I felt myself falling in love with her. It's a very complicated process when a demon falls in love with a human. This bond is called an attraction, and it's involuntary. This is the way demons make sure the population of demons grows.

"Two types of attractions are possible, one with a contract, like mine and Catherine's, or one without a contract. If a demon has an attraction with their master, such a contract is never completed. In the end, the master turns into a demon and they go to the demon world. Their contract is broken, and they live together in the demon world. That was supposed to happen with Catherine and I before she died.

"An attraction isn't an easy thing. The subjects feel each other's pain as if it were their own. When one of them is in pain, the other can instantly tell where they are, who hurt them and with what. They also feel each other's emotions, and can understand each other very well. An attraction can almost never be broken, only in very rare circumstances."

"… That's why you saved me that night. You felt my pain when I burnt myself. Does that mean we have an attraction?"

"That's right. I'm very sorry it had to happen. I didn't mean to tie your life to mine like this. Especially now that you think I'm a monster."

"I don't think you're a monster. You don't look like one."

"This isn't what I really look like."

"Oh? Explain that."

"We have three different forms. Our most common is our demon form. Our second most common is our animal form, and then we only take on a human appearance when we are serving a contract."

"Show me your demon form." She said.

"I don't think that's-"

"Show me your demon form." He sighed. Now she would really think he was a monster.

"As you wish…" His eyes glowed bright red. She watched with interest as black feathers began to fall from the ceiling. The light from the sunset became almost extinguished as the room was coated with another layer of shadows. Sebastian's shadow grew and distorted wildly. He stood the same way as he did.

He really didn't look that different. The only change was that he was wearing a black leather outfit covered in chains and buckles, he had black triangular tattoos on his cheekbones, and his eyes burned a fiery red.

Lily stayed silent for a long time. She stood up quietly and walked towards him. She gently took one of his hands into her own.

"You were afraid that I wouldn't accept you? You were afraid that I'd reject you? That I'd be disgusted by you? I don't think you're a monster, Sebastian. I would be insane to think that." Sebastian slowly turned back into his human form, unable to believe what he was hearing her say. "It doesn't matter to me what you look like, I'm still going to love you." she smiled. "You know, I've never loved anyone before. I'm glad it's you, because I'm going to be able to keep you to myself forever after you're done your contract, right?" Sebastian looked down at her.

"Right" His expression had softened a lot.

"I have just one question for you."

"What is that?"

"When am I going to become a demon? It makes no sense to wait."

"Right now, if you want. It's not going to turn you into a demon straight away. It's going to take time, maybe a week until you're completely a demon. Until then, you'll be running on borrowed powers, so you can fight almost as well if you really were a demon."

"Okay. I'm good with that. What happens once I become a demon? Will I have to go to the demon world?"

"Not right away. You can wait until my contract is finished."

"I'll do that, then."

"Give me your other hand." He said. He gently tapped the back of her hand with his. Within seconds, the same purple symbol glowed on Lily's hand. "Every demon has their own symbol. As you become a demon, this symbol will slowly change into your very own." He let go of her hand. She inspected her fingers. Her nails were darker now, a light purple. She smiled.

"I can't wait now"

"You sound like Catherine"

"Well of course I do. I'm sure she said the same thing too."She smiled. "By the way, did I tell you that I love you?"

"Once, but it's nice to hear." He said as he pulled her into a hug. "By the way, I love you too"


	18. the abbey

Chapter 18: the abbey

"This morning you have a dance lesson with Miss Bright, and this afternoon, Lord Wensler, who has an import-export business… Are you listening, young master?" Sebastian asked as he followed Ciel down the hallway.

"I told you I'm sick of dancing. I'm not cut out for it."

"You are too modest. Your dancing soothes the hearts for those who watch."

"You mean it makes them laugh."

"I would never say such a thing."

"Say, have you seen Lily today?"

"Lady Lily was very tired after last night. She decided to sleep in. She should be up soon." They heard laughter coming from the opposite room.

"Look, Tanaka, there are three upright tea stalks. It promises to be a good day!" The queen's butler and Tanaka were sitting across from each other, both holding cups of green tea.

"You're… her majesty's butler!"

"Ah, Lord Phantomhive. I apologize for this embarrassing display."

"Why is the queen's butler drinking tea in my mansion?"

"You didn't know, young master? Ash has been the one delivering Her Majesty's orders the entire time."

"That's no job for a butler"

"A butler who can't… use Her Majesty's naptime to check the Doomsday Books for those requesting an audience, come straight to deliver a letter to Lord Phantomhive and stop for an elegant tea with Tanaka while he's at it… isn't worth his salt."

"Wow did you say that all with one breath?" Lily asked, scaring Ciel and Sebastian, as they hadn't seen or heard her come.

"Somehow I doubt the tea bit is a requirement." Ciel said.

"Might I ask what brings you here today, Ash?"

"Ah, yes" Ash set his tea down. "Outside of Preston, there's a catholic abbey that was burned down during reformation and is no longer in use. A cult espousing deviant doctrines is gathering there. We have heard that its leader has all the Doomsday Books of all followers."

"You mean the land registers, where their livestock and property are recorded?"

"No. Ash is talking about a different doomsday book." Lily said.

"That's right. You're very smart, My Lady. The doomsday books they revere are of a different sort. They are registers required when you stand before the lord in heaven on Doomsday, the day of Judgement. All your sins and good works are supposedly recorded there."

"The occult again?"

"There are rumours that they intend to revolt against the government. Her Majesty laments that the people of Preston are quaking in fear at these heretics."

"And? Are you telling me to disperse them or eliminate them?" Ciel asked.

"We'll leave that decision up to you."

"Very well."

A shadow crept over the basement window and banged on the window. Pluto barked several times, literally trying to throw himself at Ash. Ash glared for a second and Pluto walked away.

"Who is that?"

"Just a servant" Sebastian replied.

"I see… he seems amusing." Lily poked Sebastian's shoulder and whispered something into his ear. Sebastian nodded. This gesture wasn't missed by Ash.

"Oh, I do believe we haven't met. I'm Ash Landers, I am the queen's butler." He said, extending his hand to Lily. She shook it.

"I'm Lily Middleford. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said.

"What on earth happened to your arm?" He wondered.

"I got burned in a house fire."

"Both your hands?" He asked as he looked at the bandage that was now covering Sebastian's mark on Lily's other hand.

"No, this was a cut I got last night. I broke a cup by accident." She said.

"Well, my wishes for you to have a speedy recovery, Lady Lily." He said. "It was nice to see you all" Ash said as he walked out of the house.

"Well, what now?" Ciel asked.

"According to Ash, the abbey is heavily guarded."

"So it would be difficult to go in through the front door."

"Incidentally, he also mentioned that a large amount of coffins have been delivered there in recent days."

"Hmm… coffins?"

They walked to the undertaker's place.

"Um… so why are we here?" Lily asked, looking at the sign, clinging onto Sebastian's arm. "This place looks really creepy."

"The man who runs this place is a friend of the young master's. He comes here for information, and incidentally, he can help us with our coffin problem." Sebastian said as Ciel pushed open the door. Lily hesitantly followed them.

"Welcome…" A person with white hair said.

"Hey, I know that voice…" Lily said, her eyes narrowing.

"I have a favour to ask, Undertaker."

"In that case, give me prime romance!" Grell said, throwing off his wig and jumping at Sebastian. Lily did a spin kick and sent him flying into the wall.

"Grell!" Ciel said.

"Hello, my lord." A new voice said. Ciel walked over to a jar filled with salt.

"Undertaker!"

"The bounder told me he wasn't afraid of Grim Reapers, so I buried him in salt." Grell said, walking up to the jar.

"Oh, I just love the sensation of all the moisture in my body leeching out through my skin."

Lily made a small noise of dissent and hung onto Sebastian's arm. Her fingernails were two shades darker today than they were yesterday, now more a dark purple than light lavender.

"A dangerous game" Sebastian said.

"What are you doing here?" Ciel asked Grell.

"Will's having me do a little investigating." Grell said. "But there was just no information, so I got hungry and sleepy… So I took a nap in a flowerbed and found myself here. Perhaps I shouldn't have stopped breathing when I slept…" Grell said.

"So grim reapers are real too?" Lily asked, yawning.

"Yes"

"You know?" Ciel asked.

"I found out last night." Lily said, yawning again.

"I was waiting for a prince to come wake me with a kiss…" Grell said, looking at Sebastian.

"Keep dreaming" Lily said as she kicked him into a wall again.

"Is it me, or has this girl gotten even more violent since we last met?" Grell asked, picking himself off the wall.

"What are you investigating?" Sebastian asked.

"Oh, well we've had a few Cinematic Records stolen recently."

"Cinematic records?" Ciel asked.

"Not something a kid needs to know about."

"They're reels of film containing all the moments of a person's life. Grim Reapers extract them from those on the 'to die list', replay them, and decide whether they live or die."

"Just so we're clear, you two humans can only see them when you die." Grell said.

"Forgive me, but there is only one human here." Sebastian said. Lily and Ciel looked up. "Lily is not a human being. She is being turned into a demon as we speak. Her transformation is almost complete." Lily unwrapped the bandages on her right hand. Sebastian's mark still glowed there, but it had twisted itself around so that the star had six points instead of five, the circle on the outside had no diamonds ringing around it, and the thing itself was a deep blue color. It was scary how fast it was coming. Sebastian had predicted that she would become a demon in a week. Now it seemed more like tomorrow.

"Hmm… oh how interesting… I've never seen a half demon before." The undertaker said.

"Can we get back to business now?" Lily asked.

"Are records the sort of thing that can be stolen?" Sebastian asked Grell.

"Mmm… they're stored in the library when we're not using them. The full pasts of all the people now living… in other words, everyone on the to die list, all the crimes, everything… in the form of books."

"So they're books made in preparation for doomsday." Ciel said.

"That rings a bell, doesn't it?"

"Undertaker, there's something I want your help with." Ciel said, staring into the jar.

"Then give me prime laughter…" he looked at Grell, who was staring at him. "On second thought, I'll do this free of charge."

Minutes later, Undertaker was riding on a donkey, with a coffin being pulled at the back.

"I've come to deliver the coffin you ordered." The undertaker said at the door.

"Coffin, sir? No one informed me of this."

"I have the orders right here… hmm… where did I put it?" While he dropped everything on the ground he carried, Sebastian, Ciel, Grell and Lily jumped out of the coffin and ran like crazy towards the bushes.

"All right, you can come in. And you three as well." Sebastian, Grell and Ciel looked up.

"Serves you guys right for not making yourselves invisible." Lily whispered. She had crouched so far down that no one could see anything.

"Well, I'll be off then" The undertaker said.

"I see… thank you… may your soul be cleansed." They said as the undertaker rode away. The four of them walked out of the bushes. They walked with the person who led the donkey.

"I thought this place was supposed to be difficult to get into."

"Yes, I was under that impression as well." Three women wearing uniforms walked down the road. They smiled at the five of them.

"Perfect smiles"

"That should be educational for you, young master, since you've forgotten how."

"Don't be dumb, those are fake smiles."

They walked into the abbey. Several stained glass images of angels were painted on the windows. Ciel ran forwards. The same symbol was on the light on the roof. It made Ciel and Lily stop.

Several children came running in.

"Good evening!"

"Good evening!"

"Another wonderful day today, wasn't it?"

"Oh, aren't you cute." Grell said. "I don't really do kids though…"

"Hello, unclean one. You're impure through and through, I see"

"Huh?"

"What's the matter, unclean one? Are you ill?" he got a fist to the head.

"You little brat! Who are you calling unclean?"

"Wah, an unclean one touched me!"

"We need to be cleansed!" the kids ran away past a door. Grell chased them until he came face to face with a nun. She smiled happily. Her green eyes and red hair reminded Sebastian of Lily, only Lily was ten times as pretty.

"Everyone over a certain age is called unclean." She said. She turned to look at Ciel, Sebastian and Lily. "I can see by your clothes that you are new converts. Don't worry; if you study the teachings of our leader your body will be cleansed." She said.

"What a load of crap" Lily breathed, so quietly that only Sebastian and Ciel could hear.

"I say, is this place…" Ciel started, but Sebastian held him back. He whispered to Lily.

"May I?"

"Whatever, you still belong to me. I don't care" She whispered back.

"Unclean?" Sebastian asked the nun, who had completely missed Sebastian and Lily's conversation. "A funny thing to say. I can't believe a beautiful lady like yourself is impure." She blushed. Lily rolled her eyes, hearing the blatant lie in his words. "I don't know anything about your sect, yet. Would you mind telling me?"

"Yes… but why are you here?" Sebastian's hand slammed right next to her head.

"A bug" He said. "You'll tell me, won't you?"


	19. not a true angel

Chapter 19: the angel

Ciel, Grell and Lily stood outside the house.

"I didn't think he'd go that far. You really let him do that, Lily?"

"Once again, I don't care either way. Because of our attraction, he belongs to me and to no other woman, and that won't change. Besides, she's going to die in that abbey anyway." Lily said, leaning against the lamppost.

Pretty soon, Sebastian walked out with all the information they needed.

"If only young boys are chosen for the heavenly choir, that means you are the only one who can get close to their leader."

"Rubbish!" Grell said as he walked in, wearing a little boy's outfit. "I could easily get into the heavenly choir."

"Yeah right" Lily said. Grell, fearing another kick to the face, walked against the wall. Suddenly, music came from up the stairs.

"Ah, it's time for the leader's cleansing ceremony." The little boy whose clothes Grell took said.

"Cleansing?" Grell asked.

"I was right… it smells…" Sebastian said.

"What is it?"

"Nothing… I just smelled a rotten apple falling from a tree."

They walked into the cleansing ceremony.

"What is that smell, Sebastian?" Lily asked. "It smells like something dead…" she added.

"Most likely, someone in here aren't who they say they are." Ciel, Lily, Sebastian and Grell sat in the very back row, watching as the leader walked up to the front. Grell hung onto Sebastian's shoulder. Sebastian didn't like it, but he didn't push Grell away.

"Here, tonight, the sinful unclean shall be made pure" The man said. Two people were lead up to the front, and their clothes were removed. They had the same tattoo on their backs as the symbol on the ceiling. One of the nuns walked up and gave the leader two doomsday books.

"Are those cinematic records?" He asked Grell.

"Too far away to tell" Grell said, putting his head on Sebastian's shoulder.

"I shall read the doomsday books of these impure lost children." The man said. "Jill Peasant, The second child of a farmer. She conceived a child at fifteen. Tomas Atkins, No especially evil deeds, but he spent his life meaninglessly. That is a grave sin." Both began to shudder in agony. Dark mist covered their forms and they both straightened and screamed. The middle window began to shine with a white light. It transformed into a little screen, like a movie. It showed the woman as a young girl, obviously pregnant, pouring water into a jug. It showed the man fishing.

"Snuff out the unworthy, snuff out the unnecessary" The man began to chant. "Snuff out the unfruitful, snuff out the unclean!" The window broke and the two screamed in agony. Then the light dimmed and they relaxed. "Now, nothing unclean exists on this dais. They are our brother and sister, made as pure as snow" All the nuns and everyone else dressed in those uniforms started clapping and staring at the leader with shining eyes. Pretty soon, they waited until everyone left.

"Something's off. Those weren't cinematic records." Grell said.

"Then he doesn't have the power to see the past?"

"Oh you're still here!" A nun said. "The heavens have smiled upon you. Come!"

"S-stop I'll do it myself!" Ciel said as they tried to yank off his shirt.

"Nonsense, you've been chosen for the heavenly choir, so we must cleanse you from head to toe!"

"Oh, such clean unblemished skin!"

"D-don't touch me!"

"Oh, don't worry. We've already been cleansed.

"That's not the issue!" Ciel said.

"Pardon me" Sebastian said as he walked off. "I'll take care of the rest."

"We can't allow that. You're still unclean."

"Am I impure?" Sebastian asked, putting on an adorable face.

"Well… maybe you're not…" the nuns said, blushing.

"Certainly not!" the other said.

*Later*

Ciel walked in through the door, now wearing the children's outfits from the heavenly choir. Lily, Grell and Sebastian watched unseen from behind the third window.

"You look divine, Ciel" The man said.

"I'm honored that you've chosen me."

"I'll read you a book" He said, putting his hand on Ciel's shoulder.

"Sir, what is a doomsday book?" Ciel asked.

"I'll read to you until you fall asleep." He said with his hand on the book. "Tonight is a treat"

"Cleanse yourself" A woman's voice said. "Cleanse yourself of the sins you've committed here and now!"The light on the ceiling grew brighter and brighter, turning a purple color. Suddenly the man grabbed Ciel and began to choke him.

"Sebastian, this is an order! Kill him!" Ciel yelled.

"Yes, my lord!" Sebastian called and broke through the window. Lily and Grell followed. Sebastian flung a piece of broken glass at him. It hit him in the head, and the man fell. The person behind him ran towards Sebastian. He ripped the cloak apart. It was empty. A cloud of white feathers drifted down.

"I thought that was you, Angela." Angela rose into the air, smiling, a pair of angel wings growing out of her back.

"Hey, what's an angel doing in this realm?" Grell asked. She swooped down and grabbed Ciel.

"Young master!" Sebastian yelled. The records from the book bound Sebastian in place.

"Grell, use your death scythe!" Sebastian said.

"Just a second, I'm working on it!" He said, snipping at the threads.

"What are those?" He asked, looking at the tiny little scissors.

"I can't help it! William took away my last set of death scythes!"

"Useless, good for nothing grim reaper!" Lily yelled. Her jackknife glowed with dark energy and suddenly the blade lengthened into a wicked sharp sword. The edge of the blade curled upwards, like a pirate's. Heat from the dark fire seared off of it. She brought it up in a swinging arc, and broke all of Sebastian's bindings in one go, her eyes glowing the demon red color. The blast was so powerful it sent an explosion in Angela's direction, but she dodged it.

"I will show you the light and darkness of your past" Angela whispered into Ciel's ear. She opened a portal and disappeared through it.

"Here we go. Lily, stay behind."

"Why? I'm not leaving you!"

"We need you here!" Sebastian said as he and Grell jumped into the portal. The light disappeared.

"God dammit. Now what?"


	20. the library

Chapter twenty: the library

Sebastian and Grell jumped out of the portal into a blue world. They looked around.

"Where is the young master?" Sebastian asked, looking around. Grell turned around.

"Gaah! It's the grim reaper library!" he said, pointing to the huge stately building in front of them. "This is where the cinematic records are kept." They walked towards the building. They walked into a specific room, and Sebastian pried open the door. A death scythe came flashing at them. Grell jumped backwards.

William retracted his death scythe.

"Ah it is you. I knew I smelled something unpleasant."

"Will!" Grell said, running in after Sebastian

"To think that a demon would have the nerve to set foot in our territory…"

"Wait, will! I'm looking for the doomsday books on your orders!"

"Honestly… a grim reaper, willingly inviting vermin here?" he put his scythe down. "Grell Sutcliff, you seem to be asking for yet another demotion."

"What will it be this time?" Grell asked.

"Exterminating vermin is all well and good, but are you sure you ought to let your lice infestation go unchecked?" Will's eyes widened.

"An angel."

"Yes"

"It seems I'll be late getting home tonight again." They hurriedly walked down the hallway. "Angels have the ability to tamper with cinematic records."

"They can change the past?"

"I doubt even God can do that. They merely give you a false peace. Those who have had negative enough experiences to break their souls wish for that past to be wiped out. However, it haunts them forever. An angel's power leaves their past unchanged, instead manipulating your impression of it to make you think it wasn't so negative after all."

They burst the door open.

"Young Master!" Sebastian yelled. Ciel's cinematic record rose through the air out of his body. His head was in Angela's lap.

"His past is being rewritten. He's being purified, made as clean and as white as snow."

"Purified?"

"No one wants to harbour hatred. That holds true for him as well."

"Young master!" he started forwards.

"How rash" Will said. Sebastian stopped. "If you forcibly stop her now, the child's past won't be properly contained inside him, and he will become less than human."

"Yes… he will become as white as snow." Angela said. They stopped and waited quietly for it to finish. At least Lily wasn't here. Angela would rewrite Lily's past after Ciel's. He had been right to leave her behind. Suddenly, Ciel's body was lifted into the sky. The lines of records were flowing backwards now.

"Eh? He's rewinding his cinematic record by himself!" Grell said. The last of the threads disappeared inside him and he fell. Sebastian caught him.

"What a breakneck thing to do."

"Sebastian… I…"

"You always exceed my expectations. You are truly worthy of being my soul…no, my young master."

"The horror of such a depraved heart." Angela said, her hand in a fist. "Depraved, stagnant, without light… I should never have shown you mercy. I shall purify you here and now."

"Then let's do it." Sebastian said, pulling out a fistful of knives.

"Disturbances in the library fall under grim reaper jurisdiction. We'll join them, Grell Sutcliff."

"Oh, yes! Oh, we're a trinity! The door opens on a passionate battle!"

"Yes, yes, coming through" The undertaker said, wheeling a cart of books along.

"Undertaker!"

"Hi"

"Hey, what are you doing here-gaah" Grell started to ask. He got a death scythe to the head.

"Mind your tongue" Will said as Grell rubbed his head in pain. "This is the virtuoso who passed judgment on the famous Robin Hood, and sent Marie Antoinette to hell. He is the legendary grim reaper who makes the staunchest of souls give up the ghost."

"Now hold on!" Grell interrupted. "He looks nothing like that fellow!" he walked up to the undertaker. "How could this dreary old man be a legendary…" he lifted his hair, and his eyes went wide. "Take me"

Seizing the moment, Angela flew into the air and made a new portal.

"As you seem so busy, I'll start my purification with that abbey."

"Running away again?"

"I shall show you all what happens to a world ruled by impurity!" She disappeared. Sebastian sent a fistful of knives flying in her direction. They all bounced off as the portal closed. The library suddenly turned a different color.

"W-what is this?"

"An angelic seal. We're stuck inside here." Will said. Sebastian's eyes suddenly went wide.

"The abbey" he said in horror. "Lily! I left her at the abbey!" his hands went to his head. _She's going to die like Catherine did, and there's nothing I can do about it!_

*back near the abbey*

Lily ran through the forest behind the abbey as fast as her legs could take her, which was pretty fast considering her new powers. She jumped from tree to tree. She had to get away from here as fast as she could. Once she was sure she was far enough from the abbey, she stopped to rest on a comfortable branch in a tree. Her head pounded painfully, and it felt like the bright blue mark on her hand was burning her skin. No one had expected that the demon conversion would go so quickly. Instead of tomorrow, it would probably happen in a few hours. And she didn't even have Sebastian with her.

The dominant emotion she felt inside her was panic. She wasn't sure why. Was it her panic or was it Sebastian's? This attraction stuff was very confusing. Sebastian… where could he have gone? What could have happened? What if he couldn't make another portal? What if he couldn't come back? She hit her head to make her mind shut up. She needed to concentrate. She closed her eyes and decided to try something.

*the grim reaper library*

Grell pulled on the door several times with all his strength and it wouldn't give.

"It won't open!" He said.

"Good grief…" Will said. Suddenly, one of the books on the shelves shuddered and fell. Will bent down to pick it up. "This is… the cinematic record of someone in that abbey."

"Is it Lily's?"

"No… this person's name is Matilda Simmons."

"The abbey?"

"I see… an angel of massacre, huh…"

"Angel of massacre?" Ciel asked. Sebastian's head suddenly pounded painfully. A new voice sounded in his head

_Sebastian? Can you hear me? Sebastian? Sebastian? SEBASTIAN? _

_Ow… Lily, you're making my head hurt._

_Where the hell are you?_

_We're at the grim reaper library of cinematic records. we're stuck here, we can't get out._

_Is Ciel all right?_

_Yes, he's fine._

_That goddamn angel. I swear she's not even an angel. Did you kill her?_

_No, she opened a portal and disappeared. _

_Where is she now?_

_She should be at the purification abbey. _Sebastian didn't like where this was going.

_Sebastian, my demon transformation is almost done. Let me go and fight Angela. I can hold her off until you come and then we can fight together. _

_That's out of the question. You can't do anything that will put your life in danger._

_Please, Sebastian, we're running out of time! we don't have any other choice. You know I'm more than capable of defending myself. She'll kill everyone in the abbey if I don't hurry up._

_I don't know about this…_

_I do. In the meantime, figure a way out of here. You'll be my back up, and hopefully, I won't have to fight without you._

_Fine. Be careful, Lily._

_I will!_

And with that, the connection cut off.

"S-sebas-chan?" Grell asked as Sebastian's eyes returned to their normal color. While he had been speaking to Lily, his eyes had turned a clear bright blue.

"We need to figure a way out of here. Lily's going to hold Angela off while we get here, but I'm sure she won't be able to hold her off for long." Sebastian said.


	21. fire demon

Chapter 21: fire demon

Lily ran back to the abbey. She could already hear the Angel's song. Luckily she had bothered to change from a dress to a pair of shorts and an oversized shirt, because she wouldn't be able to fight in a dress. She rolled her sleeves up and slid her jackknife into her pocket. Her eyes, now glowing red, narrowed as she neared the abbey. Demon or not, this would be her first fight, and she would win no matter what. She ignored the consistent pain in her hand as she kept running.

*at the abbey*

The leader's body lay in a coffin on the front desk. All the clergymen and nuns sat on benches, their heads bent, hands clasped together in prayer, mourning.

"What should we do now that our leader is gone?" One nun asked.

"You don't have to feel sad" A new voice said, coming from the stained glass painting of the angel. Everyone looked up as the window shone with a light. Angela slid through the window, her hands clasped together like everyone else's, a pretty smile on her perfect face. "Because the time has come for the coffins to serve their purpose."

"A-an Angel?"

"Yield everything to me" Angela said as she landed gracefully in front of the coffin. "And give me your thoroughly sullied doomsday books that will never record the future!" The people began to writhe in pain. "All of you who have gathered here are impure souls. Souls who lean on honeyed words, souls who lean on god, who have given up writing the future with their own hands." She lifted her hands higher. "Snuff out the unclean, snuff out the unnecessary!" Everyone screamed in pain.

"STOP!" A high clear voice rang through the hallway. Distracted, Angela put her hands down, and the pain was lifted from everyone. The doors were open, shining light as bright as Angela's. A shadowy figure walked through the door.

Lilyanne Alyssa Cordelia Middleford slowly and confidently walked down the aisle through the abbey. Though Angela's light had disappeared, Lily gave off her own light. A bright blue light that encased her form and made her seem twice as scary. Her very long white shirt sleeves were rolled up, the hand marked with the demon symbol clutching the jackknife. Lily's long hair fanned out behind her, even though there was no wind.

"Who are you?" Angela asked, her eyes narrowed. "Who do you think you are to stop the purification of an abbey?"

"Purification?" Lily laughed. It was a high cold laugh unlike her usual pretty laugh. "More like destruction and pollution" she said mockingly as she got closer to the angel. "Either way, you don't need to know my name. All you need to know is that you will die by my hand. You are alive, like anyone else. Therefore, that life can be taken away."

"You are overconfident, demon girl. You believe a demon can kill an angel?"

"It's possible. And I'm not a demon… yet."

"Yet" Angela repeated. "You willingly turned yourself into filth? You willingly cast away your own chances to go to heaven someday?"

"Heaven is hell to me without him. I will go anywhere he goes. Humans have the ability of doing anything because of love. And that love is the reason I will kill you today."

"Tch… I should have known. Not only has he placed his mark on you, you also smell like him."

"Naturally." Sebastian appeared right beside Lily.

"Sebastian!" Sebastian took her hand.

"What pious demons you two are, to wish to die at the hands of an angel… Sebastian Michaelis, Lily Middleford."

"We can always try" Sebastian said, and jumped. Angela jumped out of the way and flew around the walls, dodging the knives Sebastian threw at her. She landed across from them.

"Do you really think two regular shadow demons can compete with an immaculate winged angel?" She asked. "Wingless shadow demons are chained to earth, for eternity."

"Oh, is that so?" Sebastian asked. "In that case, may you be chained to the heavens." Angela looked around, but too late, William's death scythe caught her around the throat and she was pinned to the wall. She broke it in half and slid to the ground. Lily charged at her, but Angela flew out of the way.

Lily was about to move again, but suddenly, she was caught in a crystal like dome. She banged on the glass, to no use.

"Lily!"

"It serves her right." Angela said. She was about to say something else, but stopped. A white light shone from inside the jewel. Angela stopped and stared. Sebastian smiled.

"Angela, you're about to witness the birth of a new demon. The demon that will eventually take your life." He said.

"You don't mean?" Grell asked.

"Yes. Her transformation has just finished" Sebastian looked expectantly at the dome. The light got brighter and brighter, illuminating the room.

"Hmm… an immaculate winged angel, huh?... Perhaps a regular demon might not be able to compete with an angel, but what about one with wings?"

The entire dome burst into flames. A huge towering pillar of fire extended from the floor to the ceiling. A dark shadow rose out of the fire.

Lily's outfit looked like it was made of black leather bandages, thickly layered over one another. She had a pair of shorts and a sleeveless top that looked like that. Her feet and hands were covered in black bandages, held in place by little white strings. She had a black tail that resembled a cat's, and wings that were entirely made of fire.

"An ifrit… a fire demon… I thought they had died out!" Angela cried.

"No, they exist. A few of them, I'll admit, but there are some of us left." Lily said as she grabbed Angela's throat and slashed her pretty face with three fire daggers. "That was for Catherine. I promised her I'd make you look as bloody as you made her body!" it was too bad Sebastian didn't hear her. He would have killed Angela on the spot. Lily flew out of the way as William's death scythe slammed her into the wall again and held her there.

"Grell Sutcliff" He said as he threw another death scythe at Grell.

"Yay, a real death scythe!" he said as he impaled Angela's hand to the wall.

"Why you…" She spit.

"Wash it and give it back to me when you're done." William said.

"You're so mean…"

"This is an entertaining diversion." Sebastian said as Lily landed beside him, her wings disappearing into smoke.

"Let's treat ourselves to a little game of darts, shall we?" She asked as Sebastian threw a knife. It hit Angela in the arm.

"Hmm… I missed. Now, where shall I hit her now?"

"Ooh, I want to play!" Grell said.

"You have such a sick mind" William said.

Angela grinned. She opened her mouth and began to scream, her body glowing with a white light. The building began to crumble.

"What is this… does she mean to destroy herself along with us?" Sebastian asked.

"Boys, the ceiling is falling!" Grell said. "And girl" He added, looking at Lily.

"You're free to run if you like." Sebastian said, looking at Grell. At all his words, all the people ran out of the abbey, screaming.

"We'll retreat as well, Grell Sutcliff" William said as a boulder destroyed the leader's coffin. Grell ran out of the building. William, Sebastian and Lily calmly followed.

"Well, really… never mind overtime pay, I'd like to request a day off…" William said in annoyance. Sebastian paused and stared at Angela.

"Sebastian, come on!" Lily yelled. He ran to catch up as the entire abbey collapsed.

* at the undertaker's shop*

"By the way, why were you in the library?" William asked the undertaker as Grell gave him a drink, batting his eyelashes. "I thought you'd retired from active service."

"Well, you see, he reminded me of something. There were some cinematic records I'd neglected to return."

"Oh, please…"

"Come to think of it, the two books I checked out were about the earl and countess Phantomhive" Ciel looked up. "Their true cinematic records, with no alterations by angels. Do you want to know what they said?"

"No, I don't." Ciel said. "Let's be off, Sebastian, Lily"

"Yes" They left quickly.

"Are you sure that was wise, my lord?" Sebastian asked Ciel. "If you read the books, you would know who to take revenge on."

"It's fine."

"Feeling sentimental?"

"Like you haven't been…" he muttered. "That's not it. It's only… it's not my custom to disgrace the dead."


	22. Lady Blanc Opium

Chapter 22: Lady Blanc

Sebastian, Ciel and Lily made their way down to the harbour. Since Lily had become a demon, it seemed like she and Sebastian were stuck together with superglue, never seen without one another. Lily hadn't changed much. Her hair had a new shine to it and shone like candle fire and her eyes also seemed to reflect some sort of unseen fire. The burn marks on her arm had twisted into various demon symbols, very thin lines, only slightly darker than her skin color. Here, they were looking at another murder case.

"It seems no one from this area recognizes him."

"I see…"

"It must have been a robbery" Sir Arthur said. "I imagine he was murdered elsewhere and his body dumped."

"The victim was killed with one well placed blow." Abberline said. "That's rather neat work for a common thief."

"Then it was probably mafia infighting. The Italians, or the Chinese. Word is that there is a queer new drug on the market."

"It seems like we'll need to identify him first."

"There is no need." Ciel said. He motioned for Lily to give him the papers. "His name is John Stanley. Here are his particulars." Lily walked up, and Sebastian was a few steps behind her.

"These are for you."

"Hmm… Just what are you playing at?"

"It's our civic duty to provide information to the police, no, inspector?" Lily asked.

"Spare me the play acting. What are you after? Just say it."

"All right, Sir Arthur, I shall." Ciel said as he walked forwards. "I want you to show me this man's belongings."

"Actually, he didn't have anything on him." Abberline said. "There wasn't even any proof of identity." Sebastian stared sideways at a little boy who disappeared through the crowd. "In that case, I'm happy to be of service, Inspector Abberline. Let's go, Sebastian, Lily"

"Yes sir" They said at the exact same time.

"That brat… why would her majesty keep trusting a child like that?"

"The queen's guard dog…"

In the cab, Ciel wouldn't say anything.

"What's the matter, my lord?" Sebastian asked.

"You seem even more cynical than usual today, Ciel." Lily added.

"Who could look pleasant at a time like this?"

"You are too modest, my lord. Your face looks quite pleasant to me."

"I'm simply at a bit of a loss. We don't have enough information… the first thing we need is a better look at the situation."

"meaning?"

"We need to know why Stanley was killed. Was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time or…"

"Was he killed because of his mission…" Lily said, her black fingernails drumming against her purse.

"How shall we go about searching for witnesses, my lord?"

"Leave it to the Yard. The best person to ask about Rome is a Roman. The murder happened in his territory…."

They walked down into the basement.

"Ugh… what an awful smell…"

"So you've finally found this place, my lord" Lau's voice came from inside the smoke. "It's strange that we should face each other like this. But you know, I rather thought this day might come."

"What day?" Ciel asked angrily. Lau was yet again covered in Chinese girls.

"Welcome, my lord! Long time no see!" He said.

"I'm not interested in pleasantries. I have a question for you, Lau."

"You coming to a den like this can only mean one thing…"

"So you've heard? Just what I expected from the head of the English branch of the Chinese trading company Kunlun… Or rather from an officer of the Shanghai Mafia's Green Gang."

"I don't much fancy being called that. It's too stiff and formal. Right, Ran-Mao?"

"I left you in charge of this area. I assume you're aware of all the neighbourhood disputes."

"Naturally, I've done just as you ordered. That's the protection fee I pay so you let me do business in England."

"Well, then"

"More importantly, my lord, I have a question for you too… what are you talking about?" Ciel groaned in frustration.

"Told you, he's just blabbering as usual" Lily said, hanging on to Sebastian's arm. Lau laughed.

"At any rate, shall we go upstairs? It's a bit stuffy in here."

"I told you; get out of this business while you still can." Ciel said.

"'One night, Zhuang Zhao dreamt he was a butterfly. He was a happily fluttering butterfly.' There are people in this world, my lord, who find reality too painful to live through. I'm selling those people dreams."

They walked up the stairs.

"Well, nowadays all the gang fights in this area have been over drugs. Recently, someone's been spreading a new product around. Frankly, it's an inconvenience for me too…" Lau said.

"A new product?"

"Yes… Everyone says it's cheaper, lighter and more effective than opium. It's known as Lady Blanc."

"Lady Blanc… a white woman?" Angela's last name was Blanc.

"Is something wrong, my lord?" Lau asked.

"No…"

"What was the name of the man they found at Regent's dock canal again?"

"John Stanley, though that's most likely an alias." Sebastian said, bringing him a slip of paper Ash had given them that morning.

"He doesn't look familiar to me… I thought I'd recognize just about any drug dealer around but…"

"I'm supposed to be looking for something this man is supposed to have had."

"Something?" Lau asked.

"Yes, it's possible he was killed for it. Therefore there's something I'd like you to do."

"What, my lord?"

"I'd like you to spread around a rumour that I got something valuable from the dead man at the dock."

"Nothing simpler, but might I ask why?"

"If that rumour spreads, the person who killed him and took the object should fear that it wasn't the genuine article, and come after me."

"I see… you mean to use yourself as bait. they don't call you the queen's loyal guard dog for nothing… say my lord, I've been wanting to ask you… how can you be so loyal to her? She just asks you for the unreasonable."

"You wouldn't understand. You left your country to travel the world, never putting down roots."

"You've got me there."

The carriage drove away a little while later. Sebastian was pouring tea when they heard a scream outside. Lily, Ciel and Sebastian ran outside, where Bard was trying to get Pluto off Maylene.

"No, bad dog!" Bard said, trying to get him off.

"Sebastian, do something about that stupid dog."

"Pluto, house" He said. Pluto took one look at him and took off.

"I wonder what got into him?"

"Maybe he's rutting?"

"He seemed very interested in Maylene's pocket." Lily noted. Maylene dug around in her pockets and drew out some funtom sweets.

"Hey, that's one of Funtom's sweets."

"Someone gave it to me, yes, it's the rage all over London. I hear it's almost sold out everywhere, yes!"

"But when we said we'd never heard of it, a nice lady gave it to some of us to try!" Finni said, pulling out two more sweets.

"Something's really sketchy here." Lily said, looking at the candy. "I don't like the smell…"

"Let me look at that" Tanaka popped up and opened the wrapper. "My lord, this sweet wasn't produced by our company."

"What?"

"The wrapper is genuine, but our quality is not so lax as to permit a shipment of something so unshapely." He took a lick. "This is…" He puffed back into his tiny self.

"The time ran out!" The sweet bounced on the floor. Sebastian picked it up and sniffed it.

"This is a narcotic. I believe it's a form of morphine, derived from the opium poppy and then even further refined."

"It's probably the drug Lau spoke of." Lily said.

The carriage rattled.

"Take me to the sweets factory and be quick about it!" They had left Lily behind at the manor. Suddenly, Abberline jumped in front of the car.

"Halt!" Sebastian saw and stopped the carriage as fast as he could.

"You're a reckless man." Sebastian said to Abberline. "You do realize that if I were anyone else, you'd be dead?"

"I did this because of who you are, Sebastian." Several police officers surrounded the car.

"What's all this, Sebastian?" Ciel asked as he poked his head out of the carriage.

"Ciel, Earl Phantomhive, I am detaining you for suspected violation of the pharmacy act."


	23. torture

Chapter 23: His butler, tortured

"My my, you detain me? The earl Phantomhive?" Ciel asked as he walked out of the carriage. "You, a mere untitled police inspector?"

"That's right, Ciel. You're suspected of conspiring with that Chinese fellow, Lau, to sell a new form of narcotic."

"With Lau? That's ridiculous. He's just one of my pawns. And Randall knew full well that he was running an opium den. If that's a problem, you can just arrest him. Lau knows he operates his opium business at his own risk."

"There's a Funtom warehouse in the docklands, am I right?"

"Yes"

"A large store of opium was just discovered there. It was far too great of an amount for you to have recreational use of it."

"And Lau?"

"He fled. The police team who went to arrest him led to a good few many casualties. That's as good as an admission of guilt."

"What shall we do, young master?"

"Sebastian I order you to-"

"Shut your mouth, brat." A new voice came. The police ranks opened and Sir Arthur Randall walked through the ranks. "Abberline, I told you to separate him from the butler immediately."

"Lord Randall, I trust you know what it means to point a gun at me?" Ciel asked, looking straight at the barrel.

"If you want to resist, by all means, do, but that will be the end of the sullied Phantomhive crest."

"What?"

"I've just received a direct order from the queen. In the name of the queen, I hereby suspend all the Earl Phantomhive's authority until all these suspicions are laid to rest. If you defy me, you shall be stripped of your noble title on the charge of treason. Ciel Phantomhive, will you tell me where Lau is, and where the letter from the queen is?"

"I'm afraid not."

"I'd like to push you on it, but her majesty forbids it. Instead, I'll ask your butler."

Moments later, Sebastian was in chains and handcuffs, being led down to the dungeons. Ciel's voice sounded in his head. _Offer no resistance. When the time comes, I will call for you and Lily. _Sebastian's face remained impassive. What would happen to Lily?

*Back at the manor*

Lily felt the first cut as though it had happened to her. A ripped out tooth. Images flashed in her head. She knew exactly where he was. He was being tortured. She stood up as she felt the next cut, and the next, though she physically wasn't being hurt. She sprang out of the room and ran as fast as her legs could take her. She used all her demon strength to run. In her mind, Angela walked up to Sebastian, who was chained to the wall, his shirt ripped open. She had no idea why he didn't just break the chains, kick the crap out of Angela, and return to her. He certainly was strong enough…

"You make a pretty picture like this, Sebastian." Angela said. _Oh really? _Lily thought as she stared at the whip in her head. _I'll make a pretty picture out of _you _if you dare even take a step towards him! _She was nearing the building. "So this is how far you'll go in your loyalty to your master."

"Those are the terms of the contract in between us."

"That boy must be gnashing his teeth right now, being shown his powerlessness." Angela said, forcing Sebastian to look at her by pulling his chin up with her whip.

"Yes, I imagine so."

"That girl, too. She doesn't even have a contract with that boy and yet she follows his every order like he was her true master"

"Lily, you mean. She has her own free will, and the power to do anything at the moment."

"Why don't you two start acting like demons for once and give into your own desires? This is harder on you than you admit… you haven't eaten any humans, any human souls, in quite some time. You had the opportunity of eating her soul when she was human. Why not?"

"I am not yet such a monster to take the soul of the woman I love."

"You turned her into a demon. Isn't that the same thing? Either way, you're heavily injured. Did you think of her when you took all these blows? You must be ravenous for souls right now. Shall we make a deal, Sebastian? The true doomsday will come in due time. When that happens, I'll let you and that woman have as many souls as you two want. Lily hasn't eaten a single soul yet, has she? So give up that boy."

"No thank you. I'm tired of simply gobbling up anything I can lay my hands on." Angela began whipping him worse than she had.

"O unclean one, O defiled one, O tainted one, perish! Be cleansed! The pain you feel is a gift from god! The cursed soul must be purged with flames!" His eyes suddenly widened. Lily had cut herself on purpose with a piece of glass, allowing her to tell him she was there.

"Lily…" he whispered.

"What?" Angela looked around, and then back to Sebastian. "Are you finally dying, demon filth? Your last thoughts are of her?" She raised her hand to whip him again.

A flash of white light zoomed from one end of the other. Angela stared at the whip as half of it fell from the other, neatly sliced in half.

"You hurt him one more time and I'll kill you where you stand." Lily said as she seemed to appear out of nowhere, right in front of Sebastian. She flipped out her jackknife, and the blade grew until it was the same stygian sword that she had used in the abbey.

"How do you intend to achieve that, may I ask?" Angela said. "You only turned into a demon yesterday. You don't even know the full extent of your power."

"That's true, but I know that I can turn this room against you." Lily said. "Have a look around. Do you see any windows? The door is heavily vaulted. I can fill this entire room with fire and burn you to a crisp."

"You'll kill yourself, then, as well as Sebastian"

"Ah, the power of controlling fire… See, the fire won't go near me. Even if I touch it, I won't get burned. I could fall into a pit of lava and come out perfectly fine. I can also control the flames so they stay away from specific people. However, I'm feeling quite generous today." She said. "If you let Sebastian go, I'll leave you unharmed."

"You won't place a mark on me even if you try."

"Want to test that theory out a little bit?" Lily asked, and smiled. "By the way, your dress or whatever that is, is on fire." Angela gave a little scream as the hem of the outfit began to burn. She managed to stamp it out. Lily laughed. "And what's with the outfit anyway?" She asked mockingly. "You look like a hooker in it. Not that I'd be surprised if you were, anyway."

"Why you…"

"Didn't you say to Sebastian that the cursed soul must be purged with flames?" Lily asked as her entire hand caught on fire. She casually flung a handful at Angela who shrieked and ducked right before it hit her head. "Why don't we make that happen? I can provide the fire. The only cursed soul here is you. Your soul is as pure as mine is, in other words, totally corrupted and tainted. I'm not even sure if I have a soul anymore, because my conscience has completely disappeared. That means I can kill you in cold blood without any regrets. Who knows? I might even enjoy hearing you scream, angel girl." Lily walked towards her. Suddenly, she stopped. Sebastian's mark glowed, as did hers, and Ciel's voice sounded through the room. Angela seized the chance and disappeared.

"In my name and the defiled name of my family, I order you: Come, Sebastian!"

"At last" Sebastian said. He quickly turned into his demon form and back to heal the cuts. He then took Lily's hand, and they ran to where a carriage was surrounded by men with guns. In less than five seconds, they had disposed of all of them. Ciel stepped out of the carriage.

"You two are late."

"You made us wait quite a while too, young master." Sebastian said.

"It seems like that soft hearted dupe temporarily infected me. But that's all over. Sebastian, Lily, go after Lau. I have no use for pawns that defy their players."

"You're sure, young master? You won't be able to take back that order."

"I remove anyone who stands in my way… even family and friends." Abberline watched with an incredulous expression on his face as Sebastian and Lily bowed.

"Yes, my lord" They said in perfect unison.

"Ciel!" Abberline called.

"Stay your distance from me, or you'll get killed." Ciel said. "I work in the shadows, and you work in the light. We walk opposite paths, Abberline."

The three of them, two demons, one human, ran up to the old fort, where a ship was sailing away from the shore. Sebastian and Lily began loading up tanks, Lily setting the fuses with snaps of her fingers.

"That fire power of yours is pretty useful" Ciel said.

"It does come in handy." Lily said.

"Fire" Ciel ordered. They ran around, setting off all the cannons. Several hit the water, but one hit the ship.

Lau and Ran Mao looked up as they saw the ceiling shake where the cannonball hit.

"Ah you're finally here" Lau said. "This is why I'm so fond of you… my lord"


	24. the butterfly dream

Chapter 24: the butterfly dream

"Go, Sebastian!" Ciel said. Sebastian picked up Ciel. He and Lily jumped into the sky, landing neatly on two cannonballs, which surfed the water with ease. A heavy ball on a stick destroyed several parts of the ship as Sebastian and Lily landed. They moved to the side faster than Ran Mao could blink. She looked at them as Sebastian set Ciel down.

"Lily, go with Ciel. I'll take care of her."

"I kill my brother's enemies." Ran Mao said, brandishing her two clubs.

"Then I shall battle you." Sebastian said.

Ciel and Lily ran to a door leading down to the cabin of the ship. He kicked the door down and brandished his gun, Lily holding her dark stygian sword.

"It seems you've finally found this place, my lord. It's strange that we should face each other like this. But you know, I rather thought this day might come."

"You're right, Lau." He said, pointing the gun at Lau.

"Ah, yes, what you're looking for is on that shelf." He pointed at it. Lily turned to take it. "What do you suppose is written there, my lord?" She gave it quickly to Ciel. "That woman's fingernails are black." He remarked.

"Do you object to nail paint?" She asked, tugging down her sleeve to make sure Lau couldn't see the shining blue symbol. She really needed a pair of gloves.

"Not at all. What's written in that document is a diplomatic correspondence proposing a military alliance with Germany and Italy." Ciel stared at the document. "Your beloved queen is trying to plunge Europe… no, the world… into war. She'll trigger it by invading France through opium, or rather, through Lady Blanc. Yes, just as your country once invaded mine, through opium. Will you still be her guard dog?"

"Is that why you betrayed Ciel?" Lily asked.

"No, not at all."

"Then why?" Ciel asked.

"Look out, Ciel. That man has a sword. I'll jump in your way if I have to, but do be careful." Lily whispered in Ciel's ear as Lau stood up.

"I was your pawn. The only tie that bound us was profit. But you see, my lord, I've been a bit bored. I was bored with being your pawn, so I wanted to play a little game with our lives on the line." He said. Ciel fired, but Lau deflected it off his sword and charged. Lily stepped in his way and threw the sword into the wall.

Ran Mao fell with one hit, a little bit of blood trickling from her mouth. She stared at Sebastian.

"Your small body houses magnificent power." He said. "However, you're only human. Why not stop now?"

"No…"

"Sebastian!" Ciel ran out of the smoke, Lily quite a bit behind him.

"Hmm… to think you've pushed Ran Mao this far. I see I was right all along. You're not human are you? And neither is that woman." Lau said.

"Believe what you like. You see, I'm merely one hell of a butler."

"Interesting… very interesting, my lord. Can a world so interesting truly be reality? Sometimes I think perhaps I've been dreaming ever since that day. 'He couldn't decide. Was he Zhou who dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly who dreamt it was Zhou?" He asked as he ran towards Ciel, the sword pointed.

"Sebastian!" He yelled. Sebastian ran forwards.

"I won't let you" Ran Mao said, and swung one of her clubs at him. He dodged. Lily was too far away. Even with her amazing speed, she knew she couldn't get there in time. The blade pierced suddenly through Abberline's body. He spit out blood.

"Ciel…" He said.

"You're in my way, inspector." Lau said. He pulled his sword out of the inspector's body and he crumbled. He moved to strike Ciel again, but Lily slid in his way, catching the sword between two hands. She held him in place as Sebastian hit him with his hand, making a huge gaping wound in his side. Lau jumped back and clutched his side. The red was seeping through his dark blue robe.

"Magnificent, my lord. That's just the virtue… or rather, the vice…"

"Lau, you…"

"This ship is finished. You've won the game, my lord." Ran Mao touched his shoulder and knelt beside him. "Apparently I don't have what it takes to be a player." A butterfly fluttered past him as Ran Mao helped him stand up. "Come, Ran Mao. Let's finish the rest of the dream." He said. "The entire world is a butterfly's dream." He said as they jumped overboard and hit the water. Sebastian watched them go.

"Hang on, Abberline. Hang on!" Ciel said. He was kneeling at the dying inspector's side. "Lily, can you do anything for him?"

"Forgive me, Ciel. He is too far gone. The sword crushed three of his vital organs. He won't live much longer." Lily said.

"Ciel… I'm glad you're all right…" Abberline said. "I was like you… when I lost my family. I thought I'd never have one again." His breathing was laboured. "I thought I could never get them back. But I was wrong. You can get them back."

"You're wrong… I"

"You have a chance… to get a future for yourself again…" he said. "You mustn't forget that…" His hand fell.

"There's no future for me. I exchanged my future for…"

"Young master…" Sebastian said. Ciel got up and slapped him.

"You failed, Sebastian. My life was in danger, but you wouldn't move a muscle."

"You were perfectly safe, my lord. You didn't get hurt, did you? I could tell that you wouldn't. That Mr. Abberline would shield you from-" he got himself another slap in the face.

"Forgive me, Lily." Ciel said, noticing the small red mark on her cheek. "That was meant for him alone." He turned away. "Abberline… you damn fool…"

_yes… what a fool._ Sebastian thought.

_Lau wouldn't actually have hurt Ciel… why did he have to throw his life away for nothing? Humans can be so dumb._ Lily agreed.


	25. her majesty's impurity

Chapter 25: Her Majesty's impurity

The ship sailed grandly forwards.

"Her majesty arrived in Paris three days ago, and should be viewing the exposition now. I'm sure the hotel will be heavily guarded, so… young master…"

"What?"

"Your mind is elsewhere, isn't it?"

"I'm wondering where Lily could have went."

"She's already in Paris, my lord. She will help us get inside, as Lily speaks fluent French."

"And you do not?"

"I do, but I have to protect you. But that's not all that's troubling you. What else is there?"

"Lau said that the queen was 'trying to plunge Europe-no, the world- into war."

"Is that why you desire an audience with her?"

"No"

"Was your heart moved by Abberline's death?"

"No. This is because they were all my pawns. But that pawn ignored my orders and just kept sticking his nose in. The same goes for Lau. Without a grasp of your pawn's motives and strategies, you can't play the game. That's all."

Lily stood waiting for them, waving in front of the Eiffel tower. It was interesting to say which one Sebastian noticed first. She ran into his arms.

"Hey, how have you two been?" She asked, smiling. "I hope your trip was pleasant?"

"Yes, quite. The weather did us a favour." Ciel said, adjusting his hat. Two men walked past.

"Are you certain?" One asked.

"Yes, they say there's a stuffed angel at the Palace of Wonders!" The other said. Lily's eyes narrowed. All three were thinking the same thing.

"Now that's something I must see!"

"A stuffed Angel?" Ciel asked.

"Shall we go have a look?" Lily asked. "The Palace of Wonders is just down this way." She said, pointing to the left.

"You certainly took the opportunity of exploring around." Sebastian noted as they walked.

"I've never been outside of England." Lily said, holding his hand.

"Don't worry. I'll take you all around the world sometime. After all, we do have almost forever."

"Yes that does sound good" She smiled. They walked in where a crowd gathered in front of a glass case. It wasn't a human angel like Angela. It was a monkey with wings.

"You've got to be kidding me. That's the stuffed angel?" Lily asked.

"What a bore" Ciel said as they pushed their way to the front. "Let's be on our way." He turned around, and Sebastian followed. The monkey's red eyes followed them. Lily shivered.

"Are you cold?" He asked as he put his arm around her.

"No, that monkey… I can't help but shake the feeling it might be alive…" The crash of shattering glass made them all duck, Sebastian keeping a firm grip on Lily and Ciel as the monkey flew through the hall, breaking all the lamps, plunging everything into darkness.

"This is…!" Sebastian, who could see in the dark as well as if it was day, grabbed Ciel's hand.

"Calm yourself, young master." He said.

"You've lived in the darkness." Lily said. "A little dimness shouldn't put you out in the least."

"Please evacuate and leave this to us." Sebastian said.

"It's time to grill meat. I'm not sure it's something you want to see." Lily said. Ciel nodded and ran out the door. He saw Angela standing by the waterfall and ran the other way. At the top, he ran into the room and slammed the door behind him and tried to catch his breath.

"Goodness gracious, you're in a hurry" A woman's voice said. He turned around to see a figure in a black dress with a black veil.

"You're…"

"Ciel… it's been a long time."

"Your majesty…" A slamming made him stagger sideways. The cable car began to run up the Eiffel tower.

"Look at the view from up here." She said. "As she faces the next century, Europe is on the verge of change. However… there's a stain down there. There's stagnation over there. There's uncleanness right there." She said and pointed at Ciel. "The entire slate must be wiped clean. There cannot be any creation without destruction. In order for the new century to be pure, I cleansed the houses that have taken on all that is negative in our nation… The house of Phantomhive and of Blackwell-Middleford."

Sebastian and Lily walked out. Sebastian held the slightly burned monkey in his hand by the scruff, the fur singed black.

"Really… such bad taste." A white feather fluttered down from the sky. He reached up and grabbed it. He and Lily looked at each other, and then looked up at the building.

The queen walked up the flights of stairs, singing London Bridge to herself. He followed her onto the highest top of the Eiffel tower.

"May I ask you something?" Ciel asked.

"What is it?" The veiled queen turned towards him.

"You didn't just kill them, you made it beastly. You nearly killed one of my extended family too… Why?"

"Mind your language, Ciel. I cleansed them."

"That's what you call cleansing? Demeaning the dead?"

"Demeaning?"

"That's right!"

"Demeaning… I just wanted to pay what tribute I could to the Phantomhives…they were so helpful… they showed me so much loyalty." She said, and bowed her head.

"What?"

Suddenly, the wind blew the veil clean off her face, showing not an old woman, but a crying girl not much older than Ciel himself. Laughter sounded behind him, and Ciel turned around to see Ash, sitting on the top of one of the decorations.

"Surprised? She's all but aglow with youth, isn't she?" He asked.

"Ash!"

"The loss of her husband ended her majesty's days of happiness. In her grief over his death, she tried to end her own life. I joined his body with her own, so she might live with the man she loved forever."

"I can tell my husband is pleased with my work." She said. "His body twinges inside me. Twinge… twinge… the twinge of life. The joy of truly becoming one with the one you love… I felt that if I gave the Phantomhives that same joy, it would not be a ghastly death after all…"

"The queen and her husband firmly intend to lead England to a world of perfect light. That aim has purged them of their impurities, transforming her majesty into the chaste girl you see before you. What a lofty aim! She is a worthy master for an angel."

"Angel? Don't tell me you're…"

"Ash… at least let Ciel fall to your blade. Ash's blade is a thing of beauty."

"I shall draw my sword against the beauty of thy wisdom, and I shall punish the beast within thee. I shall bring thee down to the pit. May an immaculate heaven greet thee, Ciel Phantomhive." He lunged. At the last minute, Sebastian seized Ciel and jumped past, and Lily met ash's blow with her own sword.

"Your precious sword is meaningless if you can't land a blow." He said. He turned to look at Lily.

"You… so you really are a demon…" Ash said. The queen turned to look at Lily.

"Lilyanne… Lilyanne Blackwell-Middleford. You don't go by that name anymore though, do you? Once you were as lovely as the flower you were named after. Now you shine with impurity. What happened?"

"What happened? You were what happened. You destroyed almost everything I had to live for." She said, glaring down at the queen.

"Don't talk that way to her majesty you filthy ifrit." Ash spat

"Filthy… how interesting the way you call me that. Do I not possess full and total control of the fire you two love so much?" She asked, laughing a cold maniacal laugh, her eyes glowing the demon red color. "You say fire is a pure thing, but is it really? Is the thing standing behind you, your majesty, really pure? Did you know that fire was first given to humans by a helpful ifrit demon that held a contract with one of those souls? Did you know that fire has never been a pure thing? And above all that you used fire to kill. Killing something of equal life as you, no matter using whatever, makes a human impure, as well as any other being."

"You lie" Ash said.

"Do I? Killing is usually described as ending a creature's life earlier than it should end, isn't it? No matter what you use to kill, killing is still killing. You can use fancy words like purification and cleansing, but it's really murder in the heart. You, Ash Landers, are no exception. Neither are you, your majesty. It doesn't matter what your opinions are. What you did to the Phantomhives was something disgusting. It doesn't matter what you think you did, what matters is the reality! You killed people in cold heart. That's something a demon does, your highness, the pinnacle of impurity. Do you think you can achieve this perfect world by murder?"

"That's enough!" Ash yelled as the queen began to cry. "You die first!"

"Going to kill me like you killed Catherine? With that very same blade?" She asked. Sebastian froze.

He stared at Ash.

"Sebastian, may I present the killer you've been looking for." Lily said, gesturing to Ash, a triumphant smile on her face.


	26. his butler, disappearing act

Chapter 26: His butler, disappearing

"This man killed Catherine?"

"This very 'man'."

"In that case, this might get interesting for us, right Lily?" Sebastian said before turning to Ciel. Lily nodded her assent. "Young master, this might be the end. Your orders?"

"Kill Ash…"

"Will that be all?"

"Kill the queen too…"

"Very good."

"Ciel!" The queen said. Ash had barely enough time to deflect both the knives and the fistful of fire that came the queen's way. Sebastian and Ash circled in the air and fought.

"Oh how dreadful. Stop him, Ciel, Please stop him!" The queen said. They fought. Lily had decided not to taint her hands with the queen's blood and just contend herself with watching the battle. She had utter confidence in Sebastian. Her confidence gave him confidence, so she kept up her cheerful aura. She saw what the queen had meant by Ash's angelic blade. It slashed through bits of the Eiffel tower with no problem at all. Pieces fell into the crowd.

"Sebastian, stop!" Ciel yelled.

"why?"

"We've attracted attention. At this rate, the commotion will get bigger."

"Why should we bother about them, my lord? They're only humans."

"No, we're withdrawing!" Ciel said, a tone of finality.

"You never know, Sebastian." Lily said quietly, all traces of her flaming, angry, demon self gone. "Someone else's attraction could be in that crowd. Do you want a death on your hands like Ash has Catherine's staining his dark gloves?"

Ash rose up in the air, carrying the queen in his arms, laughing.

"Angel wings…" They flew away.

In the carriage, Sebastian sat with Ciel. Lily had gone off to do some business to help get them back into London again. Sebastian was still angry. He did want to avenge Catherine's death. Who cared about a few dozen humans?

"Why did you stop me?"

"I told you, we would have attracted too much attention. That's all."

"I see"

"What are you trying to say?"

"You told me that what you wanted the most was vengeance against those who dragged you into hell. Did the vow you swore that day mean nothing?... I thought you had no doubts that day. Will you still swear loyalty to the queen even after learning the truth?"

"I never felt any loyalty to her to begin with. I just acted as the head of the Phantomhives."

"You've decided you value your soul, then?"

"What would I want with my soul? You're being tedious… what do you-"he stopped when he saw the look Sebastian gave him. Catherine hadn't valued her soul either, though she knew he wouldn't kill her. Look where it had landed Catherine. Look where it had landed Lily, the living reincarnate of Catherine. Both without a soul. One dead, one a demon. He was very angry with Ciel, nevertheless, he assumed his butler like look and pulled the emotionless mask over his face.

"You seem tired, my lord. Please, return to the hotel and rest."

Later that evening…

"Ever since that day, even buttoning up my shirts has been your duty. I didn't think a demon could play a butler, but you carried it off splendidly."

"A Phantomhive butler who can't do this much…" He stopped. "That's enough talk for tonight. You should go to sleep, young master." He walked out the door with the candle. "Forget everything and have pleasant dreams." He smiled. He closed his eyes, and for a moment, Ciel saw that his butler's mask had cracked. Sebastian's face was sad as he closed the door.

The next morning, Ciel woke up on his own. No Sebastian.

"Sebastian…" He got up and slammed a door open. "Sebastian! Sebastian, where are you? Where is the morning… Can't you hear me?" He asked as he wandered into the bathroom. He walked up to the mirror. He looked at his mark. For some reason, it had faded significantly.

"Sebastian!"

He walked out on the street, pretty badly dressed. _The mark isn't gone but… 'Forget everything and have pleasant dreams'. He would never wish for my pleasure. Forget everything… that was a farewell. What now? I can certainly get to London on my own… Lily… where is she? Two demons serving me and now none, because Lily is where Sebastian is. Dammit. I didn't know I depended so much on them. _He walked along by himself after a cart man had taken him the wrong way, sitting in an alley at night. Wait a second. But did Lily know where Sebastian had gone?

"Lily!" He yelled. "I order you to get here now!" He waited for a few minutes. Nothing. He had known it. Suddenly, a bright blue mark appeared in the side of the wall, and Lily walked out of a portal. "Lily!" He ran and hugged her. He'd never been this glad to see her in his life.

"Ciel… why are you out here in the cold?" Lily asked. He told her everything. He needed to get to that port. Lily laughed all of a sudden.

"What's so funny?" He asked, outraged. In the dark, the ifrit light she gave off seemed even brighter, like an actual candle, like his path of hope.

"Silly, the port is right across the street!" She said, and grabbed his hand. "You really can't do anything without Sebastian, can you?" they ran towards the port.

_Once again, I cannot find what is right in front of my eyes._ Ciel thought as they caught the nearest ship.

Back in England, the manor was burning. Ash rode Pluto as he set fire to every tree around the manor. The servants screamed in horror. Ash smiled in satisfaction.


	27. Burning city

Chapter 27: Burning city

Tanaka walked out of what was left of the ruined study. He had already documented two of the Phantomhive houses burned by fire. He hoped the young master would come home soon.

Ciel hid in the storage room at the back of the ship at sunset the next day, Lily in Sebastian's place at his right side. She too, had no idea where he went, and it drove her crazy.

"Hee hee hee… found you, my lord" The undertaker said.

'Gaah! What the hell are you doing here?" Lily yelled.

"Undertaker!" Ciel said, staring into the familiar face, the eyes hidden by silver hair.

"Well well… it looks like you have a new shadow, my lord" He said, taking a dog biscuit and eating it.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked as she and Ciel sat across from the undertaker.

"See that fussy bloke William captured me… Apparently he'll be shorthanded in the London area so he roped me into this by promising to waive my library fines."

"The London area."

"Yes, we have a great many souls to collect in London tonight."

Voices crept in from above.

"Look at that!"

"What is it?" The other asked. The undertaker smiled.

"Ah, so it's begun…"

They ran to the deck. Ciel gasped in shock. All of London was on fire. Lily stared.

"They certainly put on quite the show" He said. Lily's ifrit temper flared and she hit the undertaker across the face. One down side of being such a rare demon was that ifrits had quite the fiery temper, and Lily easily got angered.

"That is not a show, you sick minded freak!" She hissed. "People are dying that aren't on the to die list!"

"Think of it as you please" The undertaker said. "I must get going to help the others."

"Wait!" Ciel started after him. "Why did you come here?"

"You and I have a lot of history together. So I thought I'd give you fair warning. My lord, in just a little while… you will die." Ciel started.

"Now really, do you think I'd let that happen?" Lily asked the undertaker.

"I don't know how fortune plays out" Was all the undertaker said before he walked away. Lily and Ciel managed to get a rowboat. With her inhuman strength, Lily managed to get them ashore cutting down twice the amount of time it would have taken Ciel on his own. Suddenly, four people walked in.

"What are you doing here? Are you French?" One of the men demanded. "Take off your clothes!"

"Hey, what?"

"You bloody French started this fire. You're trying to start a war with England!"

"Excuse us, but we're in a hurry." Lily stated.

"To what, set more fires?"

"We are English people, back from a visit to Paris. If you could please let us leave."

"Hah, not happening, lady."

"Oh, really?" Without warning, she beat up the guards, and she and Ciel ran through the City. Ciel was knocked down. He stared as several people ran over a dead body.

"Is this hell?" He wondered.

"I don't think even hell is as bad as this." Lily whispered as she helped Ciel to his feet.

"Lily, can you do anything about the fire?" Ciel asked. Lily bit her lip, thinking. "You have to be able to do something! You're like the queen of fire. You can control it's every move, can't you?"

"Reverse control, Fire come to me!" Lily yelled. Her entire form caught on fire. It was as if a vortex was sucking the fire from the nearest buildings. The flames formed a whirlwind before disappearing. Lily kept this up for a few minutes, but then she stopped, out of breath.

"Why did you stop?" Ciel asked. "You were doing an amazing job!"

"It's no use, young master. Whatever it is, it's making the fire faster than I can put it out. We need to find the source and get rid of it first!"

From the top of a building, Ash looked.

"Oh, there they are. So they made it back to London… impressive. Well, what do you think of the view?" He asked Sebastian, who stood beside him.

Ciel and Lily kept walking. A building started falling, and a pink haired figure pushed Ciel out of the way.

"Look out!" They both fell to the ground. "What's the matter with you, yes?" She asked. She took a look at the two of them. "Y-young master… my lady…"

"What are you doing here?" He asked Maylene.

"I apologize my lord, yes, it's my job to protect the mansion, yes, but… but… I…"

"Calm down. I'm not criticizing you. Please, tell me why you're here."

"It's plu-plu!" she said, tears running down her face.

"Pluto?"

"Any comments?" Ash asked Sebastian.

"Compared to the Great Fire of 1666, the fire seems rather slow spreading."

"You're right… once uncleanness and vice take hold, it's extremely difficult to do away with them. However, when this fire burns everything away, the long awaited door will appear on the clean land. I shall open the door to the new century." _If I let you live long enough to do so… _Sebastian thought. _Checkmate is approaching soon… What will you do, young master? _

Pluto was burning everything in sight, his collar shining strangely. Ash smiled. _If you can't get an ifrit to do the job, get a hell hound. It will go much more slowly, but it will be almost as effective as if I had Lily herself on my side. _Lily, Ciel and Maylene looked up at the building.

"Pluto did this all, then. Come to think of it, didn't Angela give him that collar?" Lily asked, remembering the day when Finni had explained the collar.

"The tranquilizers aren't working" Bard said as he reloaded again.

"Plu-plu…" Finni said, looking with worried eyes at the dog. Ciel's uncovered eye widened at the sight. Far above him, Ash laughed.

"You battled me for your master's sake, as well as that woman's. Who could have predicted that you'd be standing here with me now, watching their tragedies play out?"

"I do not act without an order from my master, or without knowing the one person I am truly bound to is in danger. This is neither circumstance. At the moment, there is no master I'm meant to obey."

"I was thinking, I wouldn't mind joining forces with you to rule the reborn world that will dwell in this land."

"Aren't I a wellspring of that very uncleanness you detest?" He asked.

"When you examine them closely, all living things emit their own intense light." Sebastian looked at Lily. Sometimes, one didn't have to look too closely. "Morning and night, man and woman, light and darkness. If those things are well burnished and made one, they return to their primal forms, beloved of my Father. That woman is welcome to join us too. Instead of impure fire, she will control the pure fire of the land."

"You want us to become the vulgar patchwork dolls you're so fond of?"

"No…" Ash's voice changed. It sounded like a man and a woman were speaking together at once. "If you wish it, I can embrace you as a woman." She said. He looked to the side. _Embracing you would render my point useless. I vowed to find and kill the man or woman who killed Catherine, and protect Lily from them too. I don't need anyone else but Lily. _Sebastian stared down at Lily and Ciel, his two favourite people in all the worlds there were.

"What are you doing?" Ciel asked.

"Well… we wanted Pluto to turn back the way he was… we're sorry!"

"But, I'm out of tranquilizers."

"You're kidding me. You have real bullets, don't you?"

"Are you telling us to shoot Pluto, young master?" Maylene asked.

"There is no way around it. That is a beast, a monster. That is not the Pluto you all have known. Tranquilizers won't work." Lily said. "All we can do for now is kill him."

"You three know what a wretched feeling it is to lose your pride, to live without a clear purpose. This is a direct order: Bard, Maylene, Finni. Kill the demon hound with your own hands!" They loaded rifles, and Finni picked up a huge boulder. Maylene removed her glasses. Ciel and Lily turned around.

"He's all that I would expect from someone who would employ a demon, and who would order a demon around without a contract. Unfeeling and ruthless, a soul beyond redemption. You should really join…?" Sebastian was no longer there. He was gone, following Ciel and Lily. Sebastian's mind was clear. His young master had never disappeared.


	28. two sides of a coin

Chapter 28: two sides of a coin

"I see… so fate always casts Angels and Demons on opposite sides of the coin, no matter how many years pass." Ash said. The three servants fired. A howl pierced the air as the demon dog fell. Ciel found a horse tied to a fountain. He sprang on.

"Lily, you stay behind."

"What?"

"I need you to contain the fires. Now that Pluto is dead, nothing is making more fire. You will be of more service here." He said. With great difficulty, she nodded. She hid herself in a corner and started the fire vortex again.

"Look for me when you come back, young master. You'll be able to find me because of the fire." She said. Ciel nodded and sped off, thinking it was towards his death. He ran towards the castle and dismounted and ran to the guards.

"I'm Ciel, Earl Phantomhive. I request an audience with her majesty… huh?" All the guards were frozen. He walked straight inside. All the guards were frozen there too.

"Time has stopped. Is this a trap?"

He ran past a hallway and saw an open door. He walked up to it. The London Bridge music was playing. The room was dark.

"The queen!" He said. She was lying on her side, her eyes wide and glassy, bloody tears running down her face. A maid walked in and screamed.

"We have an intruder!" Time was back to full speed. Ciel ran out of the room.

"The queen's been murdered!" The alarm bell rang and rang.

Ciel was surrounded by all the guards, rifles pointed at him.

"I am Ciel, Earl Phantomhive."

"Phantomhive? So the queen's guard dog has turned against her."

"I've cast off that name. And I'm not the one who killed her majesty."

"Do you think you can talk your way out of this?"

"No, probably not. But, I can't stop here." he said. Suddenly, a bullet pierced through his side. Ciel fell. "No… way" He ripped off his eye patch. The blood on the floor slowly spilled to form the Faustian Contract symbol that bound Ciel to Sebastian. "I…won't end here!" The symbol on his eye flashed with the same light it had on the first day.

"I see you're awake, young master." Sebastian's voice sounded from the darkness. Lily's symbol flashed over Sebastian's tracing with the new blood.

"Fire!" The man's voice yelled. Exactly ten bullets were fired. When the smoke cleared, Sebastian was standing in front of Ciel, all ten bullets caught in between his fingers.

"Sebastian!"

"You're quite right, young master. You won't end here." He threw the bullets with the force of the gun and killed ten out of eleven soldiers. "I humbly apologize for taking unauthorized leave."

"What were you doing?"

"I was preparing for the last supper. Thanks to you, I believe I will be able to enjoy the ultimate soul, the ultimate supper. I'll save Lily a bit too. I do believe she'll want a taste."

"That's fine by me. This is an order, take me to that angel of massacre!" He said.

"Certainly"

They left the guard unharmed as they ran through the streets.

"Pick up Lily first. I do believe she'll want to come."

"Yes, my lord." They ran through the streets.

"Follow the path of the flame vortex!" Ciel said. Sebastian turned sharply to the right and kept running. Lily stood in an alley, arms spread, welcoming the flames as they zoomed into her soul. Finally, one area was completely clear of fire. However, the rest of London was still burning. The vortex disappeared as she stopped concentrating and looked around at the footsteps.

"Young master, you're hurt!" She said.

"Put me down, Sebastian." Sebastian put him on a nearby crate.

"Lily…" he said, looking at her. Lily ran up, her ifrit anger flaring and slapped Sebastian as hard as she could across the face. She was so angry she didn't even feel his pain. Her rage nulled it out. He stared at her in surprise.

"How… how dare you… how dare you leave me behind…" She said, her burning red eyes something truly scary. She then hung her head, her bangs hiding her eyes, all the anger abruptly gone. Her hands were balled into fists. Her arms were shaking. "Do you know… how scared I was for you? What would… I do… without you?" She asked. He pulled her into a gentle hug.

"You don't have to think about that question. I will never leave your side." They stood there for a minute, the flames and the burning city forgotten. It was just them. He finally looked at her. "The final battle is coming, Lily. We're going to kill Ash now. The young master requests your help."

"Of course" She said. "Let's go make some angel soup."

They rode in the boat, Sebastian and Lily rowing down the canal, Ciel sitting between them.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"In London, there are several bridges named the 'Devil's bridge', so called because legend has it they were made by demons." Lily noted. "I'm not sure whether that's true or not."

"In contrast, the Tower Bridge is a holy bridge which I surmise the Angel instructed her majesty to build." He said. Struggling faces were made in the walls.

"Human sacrifices… This is meant to be a holy bridge?"

"Taken too far, saintliness is far beastlier than evil." Sebastian tied the boat to the bridge. "Please wait here, young master."

"I'm coming along!" Ciel said as Sebastian helped Lily out.

"To put it plainly, you would drag us down." Sebastian said.

"I see… in other words, you two are no match for him if you are fettered down?"

"Very well then… you will have a prime view, my lord." He said, and Ciel climbed up the ladder as best as his bullet wound would allow him. Lily had burned the skin around the mark and had stopped the bleeding, but he was afraid it would re open, and the pain of the burning wasn't something he wanted to do again.

At the top of the bridge, Ash stood, watching all of London burning.

"They're burning down… her majesty's dream and the human world. Ah, at last, the great and noble day of our father cometh. The signs shall be blood, and fire, vapour and smoke. Isn't that right, demon?" He asked, not even turning around, knowing Sebastian and Lily were there.

"Why did you kill the queen too?" Ciel asked.

"Her clouded fish eyes…" Ash replied.

"Fish eyes?"

"Her eyes should have been fixed on the future, but they were held captive by the past, so they dulled and rotted. There was nothing for me to do but cleanse her." Sebastian walked over and put Ciel in between a bunch of iron.

"This isn't a comfortable spot, but it has the best view in the house." He said as Lily walked beside him.

"I agree."

"Your orders, young master?" Lily asked. Ciel took off his eye patch and threw it away.

"This is an order: Kill him. Kill the angel!" Both Sebastian's and Lily's eyes glowed red as they answered in perfect unison, her voice six pitches higher than his, a perfect harmony.

"Yes, my lord"


	29. angel VS demon

Chapter 29: Angel VS Demon

"Once this bridge is completed, it will seal eastern London from uncleanness." Ash said. "As an angel, I have no choice but to purge any demons who alight upon this structure. Purge them to perfect beings, without stain, without heart, without life. I hate to do the same thing twice."

"Let me ask you a question, Ash" Lily said as she walked to the edge of the other pipe. "Why did you kill Catherine? She wasn't a demon."

"That woman's soul was tainted beyond belief. She was intended to become a demon. I was unable to save her from her fate. She believed so much in that demon that she was instantly reincarnated instead of going to heaven. You, her next body, managed to achieve what I tried to end." He said. Without another word, he and Sebastian charged. They fought flipping from beam to beam. Suddenly, Sebastian was held down by black matter that moaned. Lily made wings of fire and escaped.

"Sebastian!" Ciel and Lily cried. She tried to burn the matter, but it wouldn't combust.

"This mist…" he said.

"Yes, it feels wonderful. It feels wonderful… they're so warm and clammy, nicer to touch than the finest furs" Ash's face changed to Angela's, and back. Lily watched with disgust. They were the same person? How gross was that?

"An angel clothed in uncleanness?" Sebastian asked. "How the mighty have fallen."

"The pleasures of uncleanness is unpleasant and unbearable to me… however" Several razor sharp feathers shot at Sebastian. Lily burned them into ash, unable to get close to Sebastian to help him out because of the mist. "The despair of uncleanness gives me power. I grow stronger and stronger." Ash said. "Oh, what to do… I still…"

"Haven't given up on you yet." Angela said, appearing behind him, Ash disappearing.

"I don't go in for women who fornicate with dogs. Besides, I have my Lily, my pretty red flower, and she is more than I could ever ask for."

"Hmph… if you won't embrace me, a woman, then I shall stay in this man's form, as the Sun…" Their faces melded together as Ash licked his blade. "and will sink my shaft into you all the way to the hilt."

"Your taste really couldn't get any worse." He said. Ash raised his sword, and it set a huge glow about it.

"The final judgment approaches. Hear me, demon, your chest shall be the sheath to my sword."

"And your chest shall be the sheath to my weapon." Lily said as she drew her own sword. It sucked all the light out of Ash's sword and threw it back to him, twice as bright as it was before. "I vow to stab you three times like you did my last body, and force you back to where you came from." she said. Ash's smile burned like a madman as he ran forwards. He forced the mist to keep Lily away, and cut off Sebastian's arm.

Sebastian held his shoulder and smiled an evil smile. Lily stopped panicking over him and smiled the same evil smile. Blood. The angel was truly the dumbest thing ever. Without Ash noticing, Sebastian's blood slowly trickled forward to where Lily had flown to the ground. She let the tip of her sword absorb all the blood, both thinking the exact same thing down to the last period.

"Demon, this pain is a blessing." Angela said. "Supreme pleasure… the zenith can only be enjoyed by first enduring searing pain."

"I see." Ash laughed his insane laugh and charged again. He missed by a little bit.

"Sebastian!" He yelled. Sebastian looked at him. _That's right. The enemy has only lost its queen. The game isn't over yet… until I hear the final call. _

"How dare you take your eyes off me in the midst of our glorious fight?" Ash asked. "You spoil my mood." He gasped. Suddenly, one piece of mist disintegrated with blue light like fireworks. He looked down to see all the blackness of London covered in little blue fireworks. All the mist around Sebastian slowly disappeared.

"Hey, this thing really works!" Lily said. Ash looked up. Instead of her usual weapon, she was brandishing a traditional grim reaper death scythe. The curved blade was razor sharp, and it alone was almost as tall as she was. The point tapered to an edge sharper than any material.

"Where did you get your hands on one of those?" Sebastian asked.

"My sword can assume any form when given blood." She said. "Including a grim reaper's death scythe." It was huge, and it must have been heavy, but Lily managed to work it quite nicely, swinging it around. Her face was in darkness, and her eyes shone brighter than red lanterns. Holding the death scythe, she looked like a true divine being, a goddess of both fire and death. Even Ash was scared for a little bit before regaining his wits.

"Those blasted reapers dare interfere with this noble and hallowed ceremony?"

"What a pity." Sebastian said, still holding his shoulder, and what was left of his arm. Lily landed beside him, brandishing her enormous death scythe.

"It doesn't look as though we'll be able to greet this 'zenith'." Sebastian and Lily spoke in perfect unison.

"Shall we make our counter attack, darling?" Lily asked.

"It sounds good to me." He said.

"I'd hoped to have more fun with you, but there's no helping it." He said, and whistled. The whistle echoed through all of London. Lily laughed.

"Not coming, is it?" She asked, smiling.

"The demon hound!" Ash said, sensing Pluto's death.

"They did it." Sebastian said.

"Useless… useless, useless, useless useless!" He yelled. "Taste the flames of hell!"

"Young master!" Razor sharp feathers blasted everywhere. Sebastian and Lily ran towards Ciel. He grabbed Ciel and Lily, and they made it out of the way just as the crates exploded. Sebastian lay on top of Ciel and Lily as the feathers all hit him in the back.

"Sebastian!" Ciel gasped when he saw the badly injured state his butler was in. Lily was virtually unharmed, except for one little feather that got lodged in her waist. She plucked it out in annoyance.

"Young master, we have a favour to ask. Please close your eyes."

"Sebastian…"

"We'd hate to appear unsightly before you, as it would damage our reputation as servants." Lily said. "We are going to turn into our true forms." She whispered into his ear. Ciel nodded, and closed his eyes.

"Please don't open your eyes until we say to." They got up.

"Now we can show you our true forms." Sebastian and Lily said, once again they were in perfect unison. A mix of black and red feathers fell from the sky.

"Our repulsive"

"Unsightly"

"disgusting forms" Lily said. They stood in front of Ash.

"D-demons…" Sebastian was the same. His pointed canine teeth gleamed in the darkness. Lily's demon form had several slight changes. Her bandages were now covered with blood spatters, her hair was knee length and as red as freshly spilled blood and the tip of her black cat tail was on fire. It whipped around, making scorching gouge marks into the metal.

Ash screamed in pain as Sebastian's metallic claws opened to reveal razor sharp whip like strings. They slashed at him. Lily created an explosion so powerful the bridge started to collapse. Ciel was blown backwards and hung by one hand.

"Young master, can you survive long enough for me to count down from ten?" Sebastian's voice, completely the same asked from the smoke. Lily's blue electric whip, her new weapon, crackled and spit in the air, covered in smoke.

"Yes!"

"Then here we go… ten…" his voice was strangely echoing

"Nine!" Lily said.

"Eight" Ash's wings were cut off by Sebastian.

"Seven!"

"Six"

"Five!" Ash screamed again as Lily stabbed him once.

"Four"

"Three" Lily stabbed him twice.

"Two" Lily stabbed him the third and last time. "For Catherine, you monster." She whispered.

"One." they said together, and their voices echoed as Ash screamed for the last time. A bright blue flash of light ascended into the sky. The bridge slowly collapsed and London was lit up as bright as day time. Then, it was dark again. Ciel hung by one hand, in danger of falling into the muddy water. Sebastian and Lily slowly turned back into their human forms. Sebastian walked up to the ledge.

"It's over, young master." He said. Sebastian smiled. Ciel returned the smile, and then let go. He fell, and as he fell, his cinematic record unraveled into the air. Sebastian dove after him. They surfaced, and the bridge was aglow with light.

"So an angel completes it. A true holy gate." It burned with light as a stone version of Ash fit between the gap. For some reason, Lily could stand on it without being burned. That was right. Ifrits weren't exactly demons. They were more like gods of fire, or just spirits made from fire and light, and then cast into shadows. They weren't as impure as demons. Lily jumped down and grabbed a boat for them. Ciel fell unconscious in the end of the boat. Sebastian walked onto the boat.

"Wait for me at the manor." He told Lily. "I will finish the feast, and then we can leave this world." He said, taking her hands into his one hand. "We can go anywhere we want. I would love to show you my world. Don't expect too much though. I'll take you anywhere you want to go. Paris, Tokyo, Venice, Austria, America, even. After the feast, we deserve a celebration for our victory."

"Yes" she said, and smiled. She knelt down beside Ciel, and patted his hair. "Our young master. Poor Elizabeth. She's going to be so sad once she finds out." she said. "I'll leave you now." With a quick kiss on Sebastian's cheek, she jumped from the dock and ran into London to put out whatever fires were left. He watched her go. It had ended on a good note, or so Sebastian thought.


	30. stolen soul

Chapter 30: Stolen soul.

Lily waited quietly. Sunrise the next day she walked out into the yard and looked around. Sebastian was taking a while. She finally saw the tall figure walking, for some reason, carrying a suitcase.

"Sebastian!" She cried and threw herself into his arms. She looked at the suitcase. "What is it with that thing?"

"It contains the young master's body."

"His body? Why would you need his body? Didn't you take his soul?"

"I'm afraid not. I could not do so without my right arm. As well… at that time, another demon stole his soul."

"What?"

"I'm afraid I will have to serve the young master a little longer. I have to go to the Trancy manor. The owner has the ring I need to bring the young master back. Forgive me, Lily, but our celebration will have to wait."

"That's just fine. I don't care as long as I'm with you. Now, sit down. You really don't think you're going anywhere without a second arm?" She asked. He cautiously sat down on the grass. "Take your shirt off." He exposed the stump of his left arm. She examined it.

"Good news, doctor?" He asked. She laughed.

"Actually, yes. This can be easily restored. I was afraid it would be much worse." She said. She put her hand on his injured shoulder. Her touch was warm, like when one would stand before an open fire. Little red sparkles gathered around, forming little particles. It stung a little, but it was more awe than pain as he watched his arm get reconstructed again, and then reattached.

"Better?" She asked.

"By far." He said.

"Move your hand around." He twisted his fingers, moved his wrist and bent his elbow.

"It's as good as new." He said in wonder. "You really can do everything, can't you?" She laughed.

"Oh, I don't know about everything when I'm alone." She said, and kissed him. "But with you, I really can do anything." She said.

They walked down to a little forest. Lily recognized it as where they had gone walking in the winter. It looked completely different, but just as beautiful. Sebastian had donned a traveler's outfit. They had decided that Lily wouldn't go with Sebastian.

"So the current owner… Alois Trancy has a demon butler?"

"Yes… a demon I really rather dislike. He is a jealous man. I don't want you near him."

"All right. Be careful." She said. "You know how to use the psychic connection again, right?"

"Yes…"

"If anything goes wrong, anything at all, tell me and I'll be right there."

"I can always count on you, Lily."

Lily waved like a wife would when she waved goodbye to her husband going to work. He smiled as he walked. He was counting on the storm tonight.

**That's the end of part one, people! I will start writing part two… tomorrow! :D Please search for Cruel Beauty 2 and let the new drama begin!**

**The end of part one**


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